3 Weeks Old Already!

On Friday Evan was 3 weeks old.  In some ways I can't believe time has gone so quickly but in others (like sleep deprivation) it feels like time is going slowly.

Madelyn is reacting more strongly to Evan, especially acting out when I am feeding him and not able to pay a lot of attention to her.  If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on how to deal effectively with Madelyn while feeding Evan I would be happy to hear them!

My first week alone with the kids went pretty well.  I use "alone" pretty loosely since I went to my mom's on Monday, had Robin come for a few hours on Tuesday to watch Madelyn, and my sister was here with my mom Wednesday through Friday for late morning and afternoon hours.  I am feeling extremely fortunate to have so much help!  I have pretty much managed to get in a nap most days and I knew I had help coming when I was starting to feel overwhelmed.  Still there are definitely challenges :)

Evan is starting to have more of a pattern both overnight and during the day. He is generally a pretty happy baby although he is more fussy in the evenings.  He likes to be held and snuggled, but he is often ok with being set down, which is good since Madelyn needs attention too.  He is fascinated watching Madelyn play and spends a good portion of his happy awake time watching her.

Pictures should be posted shortly!

2 Week Update

On Friday, Evan was two weeks old!

I think this looks like Evan is punching the Zebra :)

Evan has been spending more and more time awake and not crying, especially during the day although we have had some rough nights as well.  However, he seems to be more aware of what is going on around him and he shows interest in watching people, particularly his big sister when she is playing.  Nighttime hasn't settled into a routine yet, but I think we are making progress and I am getting some sleep.

For the last two weeks Justin has been off and we have been figuring out how to manage having two children with two parents available.  Tomorrow that all changes since Justin has to go back to work and the game will change again.  Fortunately I have my mom around to help me and give me a chance to catch a nap some days.  We'll have to see how this goes :)

One Week Old!

Today Evan is a week old.  In some ways it's hard to believe it has only been a week, and in others it seems like we were just at the hospital.   We had our post-hospital check-up today and here are Evan's stats:

Weight: 7lbs 7 oz (25th percentile)

Height: 20.5 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 13.5 inches (25th percentile)

Evan has gained back his birth weight plus an ounce, so he is ahead of the game :)  This means that we don't have to bring him back to the doctor again until his 2 month check up unless something is concerning us.

When Madelyn was born, we started the tradition of taking pictures of her as she grew with a stuffed animal.  It has been fun to look back and see how much she grew and changed so we are continuing the tradition with Evan.

Evan is a sleepier baby than Madelyn was, so we have not had as many pictures of him awake.  However, here are a few highlights from the last week.

Visitors at the hospital:

Madelyn was both happy to meet Evan and happy to see that after the distressing morning, Mommy really was ok.

Mommom made it!

Matt with a contented Evan :)

My cousin Zoe

My cousin Nathan

A couple of pictures of Evan (notice the contentment during daylight hours...):

 

 Getting Ready to head home!

Home :)

First Bath:

Birth Announcement

Here is a link to the virtual birth announcement that was created for us by first day photo.  Enjoy!

Evan Mark 10/5/2012

For a few weeks now I have been having contractions, and we have had some "do we think this is going to be real labor?" moments, but we had those with Madelyn and ended up needing to be induced, so I was trying to tell myself that it wasn't going to happen.

Yesterday morning at about 5 am contractions were starting to feel stronger but I didn't want to get any one's hopes up so I tried to get a little more sleep and didn't say anything.  But, by the time Justin told me he was going to leave for work a little after 7 I said "maybe you should stay home...I think this may be going somewhere this time..."  For the first time ever I was right!

We got to the hospital around 10am and when they confirmed that I was 4cm dialated and actually in labor I was relieved.  After the last time I didn't think I would have forgotten how much it hurt, but I really don't remember it hurting as badly as it did.  Despite strong contractions that were close together, when they checked me again after the epidural I had only made it to 5cm and hopes of a quick labor were diminishing.  The decided to break my water around 2:45pm, but at 2:15 it actually broke on its own and from there things started to progress more quickly.  Finally, at 6:19 pm Evan Mark made his entrance, announcing his arrival with strong healthy cries.  He seemed to not be totally sure that this was what he signed up for.  He was 7lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long.

My parents brought Madelyn in the evening to meet her new baby brother and see that I was ok.  Thus reassured she got to go and spend the night at Grandpa and Grandma's.

 Although we are all pretty tired, we are thankful that Evan has arrived safely and that both he and I are recovering well.  Happy Birthday Evan!