We're Exhausted, But Things Are Good

The dark circles under my eyes are growing darker every day! :-) Things are going pretty well around here, as long as I remember I'm recovering from surgery and don't try to do too much. I always pay for it the next day. I keep telling myself that I must take it easy, but it's hard.

Caleb is spending the weekend with his Grandma and Poppa (my parents). They wanted to give us a chance to rest a little and actually sleep when Levi sleeps, and Caleb is in need of some good one-on-one time with the grandparents. They're going to fly model airplanes (he LOVES to watch the airplanes) and go fishing. I think it'll be a good weekend for all of us.

Caleb "holding" Levi for the first time. He was SO excited!

One Week Old:

Ava, Levi, and Caleb (see her looking suspiciously at my boys!) Doesn't Caleb look HUGE???

Playtime at our house. Caleb was sharing his flash cards and stickers with Levi when we had our backs turned. :-)

We're doing well. Justin's back at work as of Friday and my mom is going to be here to help on Monday and Tuesday, since I still can't drive and need to take Levi to the doctor. My sister's driving me to the doctor for my check-up on Thursday, and Justin's mom will be here at the end of the week to meet her newest grandson. We can't wait for Mimi to come visit!!

We're really tired from all the night wakings, but we are extremely blessed. My emotions are definitely on a roller coaster from all the hormones, but today's a pretty "up" day! ;-)

We're Home

Well, we're home now and trying to figure out what kind of schedule this little one is going to have. We got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon and last night was quite a night. Levi thought he needed to eat every 30 minutes to an hour until about 3:45 this morning, when he finally slept for almost 4 hours. He is a much better nurser than Caleb was (which is probably due to the fact that his mother has some clue what she's doing!), and he really likes to nurse! I wanted a cuddly baby this time because Caleb didn't care much about being held or rocked to sleep. Levi is quite the opposite and has pretty much only slept today when I'm holding him. Thankfully Justin is home this week! Caleb is adjusting pretty well so far. He loves Levi and is always trying to share his toys with him. He gets really excited when Levi opens his eyes. :-)

Here are some pictures of the last few days...

Aunt Kiki and Levi

Mommy and Levi, Day Two

Caleb was so excited for our arrival home

Levi in his coming home outfit

Caleb not understanding the point of a nursing COVER! ;-) He just wanted to say "hi" to Levi. Thankfully all of our visitors were on the other side of the room!

Thanks for all your prayers for us this last week. The second c-section has definitely been better. And thanks for saying I looked good for just having had a baby. I was SO nauseous after he was born, I guess from the anesthesia. When they brought him to me for the first time when I came out of the recovery room, I would hold him for a few minutes and have to quickly pass him to Justin and grab the little "tray" they give you. It wasn't fun or pretty, and it was quite the end to my pregnancy. Pretty par for the course for Levi and I! So, those pictures my sister posted were taken in my nausea medicine-induced state. :-)

Well, I'm off to get some rest before it's time to feed my precious baby again. We're doing well. It's so good to be home!

He's Here!!!

This is Kimberly, Jennifer's sister...


Caleb is now a big brother! Levi James arrived this morning at 8:15am. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long. He is such a cutie! Both mom and baby are doing well. Here are some pictures of the newest addition to the family.

Just Born

Mommy and Levi

The Whole Family

Caleb Kissing His New Baby Brother

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

I can't believe my baby is two years old today. Where did the time go? It's surreal being pregnant again because I remember when it was Caleb we were waiting to meet. And tomorrow he'll be a big brother.

Caleb, when you came into this world, I became a mommy. And I'll never be the same. I love you more than words can say, my sweet one. Your daddy and I pray that you will grow up to be a strong man of God, and that you'll teach your children to know and love him, too. Caleb means "bold" and "faithful," and we pray that you'll be both, to God's glory.

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Get Your CD Today!

Just wanted to remind you that Monk & Neagle's new CD comes out today. I received a free copy a few months back, and it's wonderful!!

You can order it here, and it's only $9.97...truly a bargain!

Less than 4 days!

Yes, we'll be having a baby in less than 4 days. It's hard to believe, really. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting Levi and not being pregnant anymore. This morning in church, I think everyone was cold except for me; I was fanning myself. And I didn't drink enough water before church, so I wasn't feeling very well by the time it was over. Usually I take a bottle of water with me but didn't today.

We're still trying to get things done before our little one arrives. I've got to order a cake for Caleb's birthday on Wednesday. I could bake it myself, but I'm not going to, so we'll go with what's easiest for me at this point. :-) Then my parents and grandmothers will be coming into town on Wednesday for the birthday celebration and "the big day" on Thursday. It'll be here before we know it.

When Levi does make his appearance (and at this point I hope it's when he's scheduled because we really don't need any drama), my sister will update all of you here.

8 Days and Counting

Yes, I'm counting down the days until this child leaves my body and is welcomed into the world! Tomorrow I'll have my last prenatal appointment. YAY!!! At last week's appointment, my doctor said Levi was not going to be coming out anytime soon. Oh, and I had gained TWO POUNDS in one week. I've gained another two pounds this week according to our bathroom scale. After months and months of non-existent or minimal weight gain, it's a little disconcerting to have gained 4 pounds in the last two weeks. When my doctor assured me early on that I'd gain the weight at the end, she wasn't kidding! But I guess two pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight is nothing to complain about, right?

So, I'm trying to get stuff done in the next week that I won't be up for after next Thursday.

Do any of you c-section moms have any advice on what to bring to the hospital and/or what helped with your recovery? (i.e. what to wear at the hospital, nursing pillow, etc.)

My Heart Hurts

Do you ever hurt so badly for what someone else is going through that you can hardly stand it? Justin and I have two (separate) people who are very close to us that are really hurting right now. They are in the kinds of situations that you want so badly to make better but there's nothing you can really say or do to take away the pain. We pray. A lot. We pray that they would run to God during this time in their lives, instead of away from him. We pray for restored relationships. We pray for renewed trust. And we pray that God will strengthen them through this dark time, even when it seems nothing good could possibly come of it.

We offer our love and support, which seems so inadequate.

And we pray for miracles for the people we love.

Lord, Help Me

Conversations at our house today in the last 30 minutes:

Me: DID YOU EAT ANY OF THESE??? (holding the Singapore cents I had just pulled out of Caleb's mouth)
Caleb: okay. (his answer for everything)
Me: DID YOU EAT ANY OF THESE???
Caleb: okay.
Me: DO NOT PUT MONEY IN YOUR MOUTH!!! YES, MA'AM?
Caleb: (wisely) yes ma'am

*~*~*~*~
Me: DO NOT hit the dog.

*~*~*~*~
Me: If you don't stay in that bed...(fill in appropriate punishment here)

*~*~*~*~
Me: GET DOWN OFF THAT TABLE!!!

*~*~*~*~

I can already tell the two's are going to be a glorious age.

The Toddler Bed

Brace yourselves. This will not be a pregnancy-related post. :-)

Monday night we decided to move Caleb to the toddler bed (now that Justin is home and finally over the jet lag). Since his crib is convertible, that just meant we had to take off the front and add two little rails to the sides. We thought it would be easy to make the transition because it's the same bed, just with a modification. Apparently it was a world of change for Caleb.

The first night it took us a little over an hour to get him to stay in the bed and actually sleep. There was much crying on Caleb's part. I guess it's a security thing since we took one of his "walls" away.

The second night, he fell out of the bed 3 times. The "rails" that came with the bed aren't quite big/long enough, in my opinion. We put his bumper pad back on that side to give him a little support in that space. It seemed to work last night.

Each night it's gotten a little bit easier and has taken less time for him to actually stay in bed and fall asleep. Nap time, however, has proven to be the hardest. He doesn't cry; he just refuses to sleep and wants to get out and grab every stuffed animal and toy in sight and put it in his bed. I think it's time to clear his room of everything until he learns how to nap with so much "freedom." We're getting there, I guess.

The Child Has a Mind of His Own

Apparently Levi cannot make up his mind whether or not he wants to come out yet. We went back to the hospital today. I was having contractions at home 8-10 minutes apart for a couple of hours. Of course, once we got to the hospital, they became almost non-existent and erratic and they weren't doing a thing toward dilation. So, we're home again. Since this child is determined not to be anything like his brother, this is all a new experience for me. I didn't even have very many Braxton-Hicks contractions with Caleb, so this one is giving me a run for my money! How many times can you go to the hospital before you get to take home a baby??? :-)

I won't be going back until my contractions are 5 minutes apart and I can barely breathe. Then I'll know it's for real!

My doctor said to come home and take it easy for the rest of the day. Yeah, right. My parents left after we got home, and then Caleb refused to take a nap. I tried fruitlessly for 1 hour and 45 minutes to get the child to lay down and sleep, to no avail. So, "take it easy" isn't really applicable for people who have toddlers at home.

I think I jinxed myself...

So, when I said that I'd probably not go into labor on my own, I apparently was wrong. I felt really bad all day Saturday and woke up Sunday with back and abdominal pain, so I went to the hospital. I was having contractions and am dilated to 2cm. They gave me some medicine to stop the contractions since I'm only 36 weeks. I stayed there ALL DAY on the very uncomfortable labor and delivery bed waiting to see if the medicine was going to stop the contractions. It did, and they sent me home about 9pm last night.

Justin and I were taken by surprise that I was already having contractions. Apparently the baby listened when I said, "anytime after your Daddy gets home, feel free to come out!" :-) Ideally the baby won't come until I'm at least 37 weeks (this Wednesday) so he'll have more time to mature, especially since boys have a little harder time being born early (lung maturity and all). We still haven't fully decided on a middle name, which we spent some time at the hospital talking about yesterday. And today we've been getting the infant car seat out of the attic and packing everyone's bags. This baby is making his own way!

I'm not feeling well again today. My back is hurting really bad, but I don't think I'm having contractions. Since I was induced with Caleb, I never experienced early labor pains, so it's hard for me to distinguish between normal "uncomfortableness" and true labor pains. Because I'm a c-section patient, they don't want me laboring for very long. If I do start having contractions again, they'll go ahead and do the c-section.

I think I'm going to call them later today if I'm not feeling better and at least let them check again. I thought I was ready for him to be born, but now I have to mentally prepare! ;-)

Pray for Levi to be mature enough physically to come out whenever he's ready.