School day

Today was the first day I have been able to take Gav to school in months....alone! Thankfully Dayle was able to take him the entire time I was on bed rest...and then when I was able to go again after I was 36 weeks pregnant, I needed help! I was so weak and could not keep up with Gav...so thankfully both "Ma's" were able to help out:)

Ma watched Austin for the morning so it was just Gavin and momma...felt so so nice:) Thank you Ma!

Gavin was king of the outdoors...as usual. He even helped find a banana slug...one of his proudest moments showing that off!

I really cherish this special time I get to spend with him...it's so nice to be able to "observe" him and watch him interact with all his friends, teachers, and nature:)

A smile

Its amazing how quickly babies change. Mr. Austin is changing so much, so fast. I can't keep up.

He is starting to smile and interact with us. He will "talk" to us and coo like there is no tomorrow. It is such a sweet noise. I love it.

He is no longer a newborn, and is now such a "baby" now. He no longer has a "fussy" time in the evenings, and is always a pretty happy baby...as long as he eats when he wants it and sleeps when he wants to! He is even on somewhat of a little schedule during the daytime...or at least we are, and he fits right in. He is definitely on a schedule at night, and he did that one all on his own! As long as we feed him a few times, he is good.

He has been taking lots of little naps throughout the morning while we are out places, and then he takes a large nap in the afternoon from about 1 to 5ish. He sleeps on his belly, unswaddled, and he loves it. I feel comfortable with him on his belly during the day because I have a video monitor on him, so I can see what he is doing...Gavin only has been sleeping about an hour and a half for his nap, so when he gets up we are able to spend time together. We watch CG, eat a snack, prepare dinner together, and play outside...all while Mr. A is fast asleep. Its a special time for us.

At night A is swaddled up, and he sleeps well like this too...so we are just doing what works...only problem, we only have one size large swaddle....the rest are small, and he is getting too big! We will see what happens. Hard to change something that is working well!

Austin still spits up quite a bit, but it does not really bother him much. He loves to eat, and is a great nurser. He will nurse anywhere with any noise...at this age Gavin would only nurse in a quiet place...which made it hard to be out anywhere. Gavin was also almost 2 pounds heavier at this age...they are such different boys!

Gav calls him "Mr. Austin" now instead of "Mr. fussy pants" :) These boys make me such a happy mama!

Happy Hollow Zoo

Took the boys to the zoo today. Weather was beautiful and the boys were so good....I am one very lucky mama:)

Breast Milk Jaundice

I knew it! Austin is still a little jaundice, and we went to have his levels tested this morning...16.6! It is all unconjugated bilirubin, which is good news! (conjugated bili would be bad, that would mean that the liver has a problem)

He has always been a little orange/yellow, and in his eyes you really notice it. I had the third person tell me that his "eyes looked yellow" so I thought we better call Dr. C. Of course she said it probably no big deal, but we will have hime checked to be sure. 99% of the time it is just "breastfeeding Jaundice" or "breast milk jaundice" and 1% if the time it is a liver issue...so we checked of course. 

It is totally normal, and the reasons are totally unknown. For some reason, it takes breast milk longer to clear out the bili...opposed to formula. A long time ago, doctors would recommend feeding the baby formula to "get rid of it" but that is not done much these days...not needed to. One theory is that breastfed babies nurse at different time intervals...sometimes every hour, sometimes every 2-3 hours...just depends. That makes the volume of BM different, and sometimes its never a large amount. If the baby is formula fed, it is usually fed a set amount, every 3 or 4 hours...and the volume is larger....causing the bill to "flush" out faster....(?? just a theory) Seems completely unnatural if you ask me! There is no research that shows that an elevated bill level at 2 and 3 months is harmful....just makes the babies appear a little more yellow! SO it may hang around for a little longer...and thats fine.

SO the next time someone says my baby looks "MEXICAN" I will inform them its just a little jaundice! 

My 6AM wake up...

My Gavin

I just don't know where to start. Gavin is hilarious. Seriously, I find myself laughing almost all day long. The things he says, and the way he says them. He hears everything, and repeats everything. Big words, little words, words that he has no idea the meaning. He will just say and do the funniest things. The only reason that I am not completely insane at the moment (lack o sleep) is because he makes me smile and laugh all the time. Thank you Gavin.

Just a few things he has done recently:

The other day when he fell for the first time off his balance bike, he stayed on the ground, and immediately grabbed his shoe and was messing around with it. We asked him if he was OK, and if he hurt his foot? He said, "No, Davin was just down here tyin his shoe!" HAHAHAHA We were on the ground laughing. What??? He was not! He does not even have ties on his shoes, they are velcro! He pretended that he did not fall, and he was just "tyin his shoe" :)

When we went to Balloon Cuts today to get his haircut, he told the lady "Thanks for cutting Davin's hair, it looks AWESOME!!! See you next year!!!" HAHAHA What? Awesome? Did not know he knew that word. And love the next year....he has no idea how long that means:)

While at the grocery today, he did some funny things. He always pushes his own cart, and helps me pick out each and every fruit and veggie. He ran straight to the spinach and told me "We need SPINACH for our BOOTIES!!!!" (smoothie) :) I told him we already had spinach, and he said "Oh, well then we need more KALE for our bootie!!!" He was right, we were out of kale...and you would not believe the crowd of people watching and listening to him! They were all amazed that he knew the greens so well:) Then, while we were checking out, Gavin hands EACH and every item in the cart to the cashier. He then tells the cashier what each item is, and what it is used for. At Lunardi's they all love Gavin! As Gavin was passing the items to the cashier, I was putting them in my basket...and Gavin noticed this and said, "Look, we are all doing TEAMWORK!!!!" He loves when "teamwork" happens! So funny.

One not so funny thing? I have had THREE people in the last few weeks ask me if my toddler was TEETHING! Why? He puts any and everything in his mouth! I am talking everything. Hands, toys, you name it, and he has it in his mouth. Its discusting. I probably say "Hands out OF MOUTH" or "DONT put that in your mouth!!!" about 100 times a day. Seriously child, STOP! I don't know why he does not get sick ALL the time! It must be the echinacea that I give him...he has to have some good immunity with all the c#$% he puts in his mouth! Just yesterday? The straps in the cart at costco, YUCK! Today? The toy frogs at gym class (that all 100 germy/snot nose kids play with) YUCK! When will this stop???

Oh Gavin, He sure makes me laugh! (most of the time:) Life with Gav is one big adventure for sure!

Austin 6 Weeks old

Mr. Austin is already six weeks old. Time is going fast these days...and he is changing so much each day. Just in the last week he has become a different baby...not as fussy and demanding...and more observant and calm.

We think he is outgrowing his "reflux" stage, and getting better now that he is getting bigger. He is not "barfing" as Gavin says, as much these days. Of course sometimes it will surprise us, but its not all day long! Mr. Austin still nurses on demand throughout the day, sometimes every 2 hours and sometimes every 3. At night he has been pretty consistent and has one bottle at midnight, and then nurses at 3 or 4 and then 5 or 6...so its not so bad! Thankfully, Derek is the one to give him a bottle at midnight, so I can get a chunk of sleep...the difference of night and day when I am able to get at least 4 hours of solid sleep! It is SO amazing and I am forever thankful to Derek:)

Austin is so much more alert now. He wants to be held facing outward, so he can see everything. He is super strong, and can hold his head up too. We no longer hold him like a newborn, we hold him like an infant...where did my newborn go???

He loves to watch his brother, look at his black and white pics, be outside, and be talked to. He is just now starting to really be interested in our faces, and voices. He is giving us little smiles here and there, and starting to "talk" to us. Such a sweet little guy.

We spend a lot of time on the go, and Austin is a great little traveler. He will go along with anything, and is pretty easy. As long as he is fed, and has his paci, he is good! He LOVES to be outside, and we spend a lot of time at parks..we can't wait for it to get a little warmer so we don't need blankets and jackets!

Austin still has a little jaundice left over. He was never "jaundice" according to the doctors, but it was there slightly. Sometimes it takes a few months for "breastfeeding jaundice" to go away, but I will be calling Dr. C to make sure. We may want to do some blood work if its not all the way gone soon. We sill see what she says. He is eating like crazy, pooping/peeing like crazy, and gaining weight, so those are all good signs.

We could not ask for a better big brother for Austin. Gavin is so patient with me when I need to feed Austin, and he has yet to get jealous. He totally understands whats going on, and is so helpful. If Austin starts crying, Gavin will come to me and tell me to "pick baby up, he is frying!" :) Or the best is "Hurry up, we need to hurry and get baby in the stroller so he does not start frying!" He often says "Look! Baby is HAPPY!!!!" :) Such a sweet big bro!

So far, Austin has done a LOT by 6 weeks! Museum, parks, grocery, shopping, friend houses (Gavin's), playdates, gym class, long walks, dcotors visits, and much more. We are so in love with him, and so thankful for him and his health. We are so lucky:)

Naptime

Austin's first Playdate!

Today my friends Abbie and Kathleen came over with their baby Henry for a visit! (I work with Abbie at LPCH) I was lucky enough to meet Henry back when he was born 4 months ago, when I was not yet on bed rest! Then when I was on bed rest, they all came over and brought me lunch and played with Gavin:) Its so crazy that we finally got the boys together...as it seems like yesterday when Kathleen and I were both pregnant! Funny how time goes by so fast. Here are the boys together...Sweet Henry was very interested in Austin, and was checking him out the whole time...that and crazy Gavin running around! I Don't think Henry has been around such loud boys before, poor guy probably slept the whole car ride home! He was so sweet:) Both little guys just did the usual...eat, sleep, barf, fuss, eat, sleep....same old! Gavin spent the entire time "cooking" for everyone and playing hide-n-seek with Abbie:) He is still talking about how she hid in the closet and "scared Davin SOOOO much!!!" :)

New phone!

2 different boys

I still don't see much of Gavin at all in Austin...By 6 weeks Gavin's hair was a LOT lighter, and he was pretty chubby. Austin has yet to show any signs of his hair lightening, and he is not as chubby as Gavin was...at least it does not seem like it! Here is proof that they look so different!

Gav 6 weeks

 Austin almost 6 weeks

 Gavin 6 weeks

 Austin almost 6 weeks

Today

Today:

-The boys helped with laundry

-We walked to the park two times, and Gavin rode his balance bike the entire way!

-Gavin rode down the hill at the park on his bike...as I was nursing Austin on a park bench...and I freaked out (he has never rode down a hill before!) and ran after him while nursing the baby...I know, what a sight. 

-The boys took a bath together...Gavin picked out the yellow sponge at the store, and was so excited to take a bath with baby. Both boys loved it. New rule though...Gavin has to pee BEFORE he gets in the tub. 

-Austin got his first mohawk hair-do after his bath. He does not like his hair brushed!

So sorry!

Gavin I am so sorry. You will KILL ME ONE DAY for this. I had to. Since Austin has been born, you have seen a LOT of stuff. Including me pumping my milk for the baby. I do it every morning and sometimes the night, and you are RIGHT there helping me assemble the pump and then watching. I think its fine, you are curious! 

Today you walked into the kitchen at breakfast and told me and your daddy that you were "pumping my milk for my baby!" with my pump on your chest! AHHHHH hahaha we sure got a good laugh out of it. I was not sure if I should laugh or not, but it was impossible. So we explained once again that you don't have milk, only mamas have milk. You are SO funny sometimes!

Kiss Me

We had a pretty low key St. Patrick's day today. We had a lazy morning in our jammies, went to Toy's R Us to get a few things (from the baby side) and then had burgers at 5 Guys :) After our afternoon naps, we played outside in the chilly and rainy weather...very low key and relaxing. The best part was the photo-shoot of my boys in their St. Patty's clothes...so cute! 

and yes, they both got lots of kisses.

Bedtime routine

Need I say more? Gavin is in heaven, and Austin does not know what to think...wait, yes he does. He knows that if his paci falls out, someone will put it RIGHT back in for him!

5 weeks

Mr. 5 weeks old. You are such a sweet little guy. You only fuss when you want to sleep or eat, and you just soak in the world with your big blue eyes. We love you more than you will ever know.

Rain!

It does not rain much here, so when it does, we enjoy it! Well, sort of. I have complained about it about 100 times because I am tired of it and its only been a few days. Gav got to wear his raincoat for the last time as its getting too small...he has only worn it about 3 or 4 times! G and daddy were playing "catch" in the rain:)

Every night and day

G gets super excited to have baby in his bed...he asks for it all the time:) He tucks him in and gives him a kiss goodnight. It is so sweet. Then Gavin gets out of bed so we can read books, and Austin will just fall asleep in his bed! 

Thanks Cincinnati Ma!

Every time Ma comes into town, she brings candy, of course. I hide it away, and it lasts until the next time she comes as he does not get it often. Here he is with his "SUGAR dots!" as he calls them. He is saying "Thank you Cincinnati Ma" in the picture:)

{Gavin 31 Months}

Dear Gavie,

All I can say is how lucky we are to have you! This last month has been full of changes, and you have done so great!!! You are so sweet to your brother, and you have not been upset about all the new "normals" around here...you adapt so well.

You have definitely matured quite a bit in the last month! You are super helpful with everything, including me and baby. You go get burp rags, take diapers to the pail, and sing/read to baby...you LOVE to help out. Of course you do, you always have!

Thank you for being such a sweet guy. Momma has been a little busy and sleep deprived, therefore a little absent, and you are doing so well...as long as we get some snuggle time every day, you don't mind. Thank you for being the worlds most understanding two year old. Really, you are.

We are looking forward to a fun and warm spring...and LOTS of park days!

Love you little man-

Mommy & Daddy

Firsts for Baby A

First time in big brothers bed.

First time being (accidentally) bonked in the head by big brother, and crying pretty hard!

First time rolling over from belly to back! 4 times in a row! He had big brother cheering, so he was showing off:)

Party!

Gavin loves to set up "parties" all the time. His favorite party is a "birthday party" where he sets up blankets on the ground and he prepares "Fretend food" (pretend food). His favorite Curious George book is "The Birthday Surprise Party" so I think we know where he got this idea from! Today he set up a "Toy soup party" in the pool, with all his sand toys and outdoor kitchen stuff. 

Gav has also started talking about monsters! We have NO idea where it came from! The only thing he watches is Curious George, and there are no monsters there! He will tell us that there is a "Scary monster" somewhere and then tell us its "Soooo scary!" Hahah we don't even know if he knows what scary means! Silly guy. He is always surprising us with different things:)

{Austin 1 Month}

Dear little Austin,

You have been a part of our family for one month now, and it has been wonderful. Yes, a little more busy, but we would not have it any other way. Blessed and busy are two words to describe how I feel these days. You complete our little family, and 4 seems like a great number for us:)

You pretty much just sleep and eat a lot still, but you are starting to be awake more during the daytime. You LOVE to watch us, listen to us, and of course see your brother. You have 24/7 entertainment:)

You are a pretty strong little guy already! You hold your head up like a pro, and can push yourself up with your arms...its almost like you can crawl! You will start on one side of the blanket and move to the other in time...you love tummy time, as long as its short.

You nurse on demand throughout the day, sometimes every hour, sometimes every 4, it really just depends. You will let us know when you are hungry, and sometimes you forget and sleep a lot while we are out. At night you go one long stretch from 7:30pm to midnight, and then Daddy gives you a bottle of pumped milk, and then you sleep until about 3am. Then you nurse every 2 hours after that....and you refuse to lay back down! You will only be held from 3am on...so that's what time momma has been getting up. One day you will sleep past 3am in your bed! For now we are thankful that you take a bottle and sleep pretty good. We will see how I feel when I go back to work;)

You really are the loudest baby of all time. You grunt and grunt all the time...in your sleep, when you are awake, all the time. Its so loud too! People will say, "Ohh he is going potty!" or "Oh, do you need to feed him?" or "Oh my, whats the matter?" HAHA I just smile and say he's a loud baby. Really though, I can hear you across the house.

You have already been on quite a few outings! Multiple grocery/target trips, gym class, lots of parks, children's museum, and soon the zoo...thats a lot for a not even one month old! You usually just sleep/eat/sleep the whole time...and rarely you want to be awake to see whats going on. 

You are slowly learning to take the paci...its the only thing to calm you down sometimes...besides eating! If you had it your way you would eat every 20 minutes...and then vomit from being so full...so we have to limit you! You are definitely a "spotty" baby, in that you spit up all the time! Its pretty sad too because it comes out your nose and makes you angry:( (this is why you can't eat ALL day long!) It is a good day when you and I both only go through 2 or 3 outfits!

That's it for now...more later:)

We love you little Austin!

Momma, Daddy & Gavin

PS. The last pic is a classic Austin face...you put the side of your lip up, squint your eye, kinda like you are looking at us like we are crazy:)

Oh, and the cheeks. They are huge now. And yes, they have lots of acne...I try not to kiss them 400 times a day, but I can't help it...we have been assured that its normal newborn acne, not from the kisses:)

Typical school day!

Today was picture day at school! It was also Mommy's first day back since A was born...and Austin got to go too! He rode around in the carrier, and didn't wake up but once to eat....but Gav sure had a blast! We are so thankful that Ma can go with us to help out....not sure what I would do without her...as Gavin is SUPER busy and messy! His favorite things to do are absolutely every activity they have....loves the water, art, chickens and chicks, and of course the messy stuff! Today was color mixing day, so we had lots of colored stuff to play with. Oh, and also he adores Teacher Jane:)

Favorite part? The colored shaving cream...it was EVERYWHERE:)