Movin' on up

I took Levi to his 2 week doctor's appointment yesterday. That little dude is growing like crazy! He is now 8 lbs 4 oz, so he has gained about 1 lb 8 oz since in the 11 days since his first doctor's appointment! He continues to be a good eater and sleeper, and just an all-around happy baby. Here are some more pics - enjoy!

Happy baby

I just had to share another smiley picture! What a happy little dude!

Pics

Josiah looks like a giant next to his baby brother! He is holding up Super Why and on my lap is Alpha Pig - gifts from Levi to his big brother.

Levi

Our little Levi is 5 days old! He is SUCH a good baby. Maybe I have a skewed view of things since it was so rough bringing Josiah home. No fault of Josiah's - it was just hard having a preemie. He had to eat more often (which meant less sleep for us); he was so small and we were more worried about him; and I had to bottle feed him every other feeding, which meant pumping in the middle of the night and cleaning the pump every time. It was exhausting. By the time I would change his diaper, bottle feed him, then mess with the pump, sometimes I would only get 20 minutes of sleep between feedings. Of course part of why it seems easier is probably that we are 2nd time parents and know a little more of what to expect (and are a lot more relaxed). But I still have to give Levi a little credit. He really only cries when he's hungry. He didn't cry when the doctor circumcised him, and he doesn't complain too much when we change his diaper. He figured out how to breastfeed the first time he tried it, and has been a great eater. He has been giving me one 4-hour stretch of sleep between feedings at night, which means I get over 3 hours of sleep at once. That is amazing! I am not sure when Josiah started letting me sleep that long, but I am positive it was not the first week (probably not even the first month). Sorry Josiah - not trying to say anything bad about you - but it is much easier to have a full-term baby!

We went to the doctor today for his weight check. He was 21" long when they measured him at birth, but today at the doctor's office he measured 19 1/4". So either he's shrinking or the measurements are off. I'm guessing his real length is somewhere in the middle. He was 7 lbs at birth, and when we left the hospital he weighed 6 lbs 11 oz. Today he was at 6 lbs 12 oz. The doctor thinks that he probably lost a little weight the first day home and has started to gain it back, so he is not concerned. Other than that they said everything looks great. They even gave him the "cutest baby we've ever seen" award. This is not an actual award they hand out, but I can tell they are wishing it was.

Every time I look at Levi it's like I'm looking at Josiah when he was a baby. Two of the cutest boys in the world! Speaking of Josiah, he does great with his new brother. He likes to touch him and talk to him, but has not been brave enough to hold him yet.

I caught this little grin after I fed him one night. I love his dimples! More pics to come soon!

He Has A Name

The name selection process has ended. The official name is Levi David. Levi and Mom are still doing well. He was a good baby last night and slept a little between feedings. He has been sleeping most of the morning.

Here is another pic from last night after the goo was put on his eyes.

Chewbacca Alien

Baby R 2 arrived today at 7:48. We don't have a name yet but he will soon.

Mommy and baby are doing well after another rush delivery. Today when Danita woke up she (assuming she slept at all last night) was having contractions every 30 minutes. They had progressed for a while to every 6-8 minutes but had slowed again by noon. Around 5:22 I received the “we need to go to the hospital call”. We arrived around 6:15 and I dropped her off at the ER while Josiah and I parked.

By the time we got up to Labor and Delivery she was getting ready and had dilated to a 4-5. They moved us to the spacious delivery room around 6:45. By now she was already at a 7 and the intensity had picked up and the time between was shorter. She had asked for an epidural after having contractions since yesterday morning but due a low blood count she was rejected! She had then asked for stadoal (sp?) another pain medication and by the time the Dr approved and nurse made it back, she was at a nine. We were having a hard time with the baby monitor and the nurse had to reposition and hold during contractions…which didn’t go over well with Danita. This also keep the nurse from having a free hand to inject the pain medication. At this point Danita was in so much pain that she couldn’t really ask for anything. By 7:48, he was here. However the cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he was a very pale blue. The nurses grabbed him and did their magic and we heard him cry and knew all was well.

Josiah was able to come and see him around 8:20 and was excited. He made the comment that he likes him. Thankfully my Aunt Dana was on her way to Springfield for other reasons while we were on the way and she offered to watch Josiah. That was huge since it allowed me to be in the room with Danita before our Mom’s and Aunt April arrived. Thank you very much Dana!

Again I just have to say how amazing Danita is to do this without meds, she rocks! We now have him and will attempt to get some rest. Thank you all for the prayers and support.

Odds and ends and a hospital visit

Josiah loves peeing outside. One day after church he dropped his pants and peed right there on the front lawn of the church as people were leaving. Then we had a talk about appropriate places to pee outside.

Here are our kittens. They really are cute. They're getting spoiled though. The one on the left is Daisy - named by Josiah for a kitty in a book he has. The yellow one is Truman - named by Jason after I commented that he looked like a tiger.
We got some fireworks to shoot off with Josiah for the 4th. He loved them (and wants to know why we can't do them every day). Here he is doing sparklers with his daddy. After this we roasted marshmallows. It was a fun fire-filled evening.

Today was eventful. I woke up at 4 am with chills. I couldn't stop shaking. I was also having stomach cramps so I laid there and tried to decide if they were contractions or intestinal cramps. We called the nurse help line around 6 and they said to just drink lots of fluids. Then I went to the bathroom and noticed a little bit of bleeding. So we called the hospital around 7:30 and asked if I should come in or wait and go to my 11 am doctor's appointment. They said I should definitely be seen today, and I was running a fever and didn't feel like waiting until 11. So we loaded up the truck and headed to the hospital. On the way I came to the realization that I was in fact having contractions, which seemed to be about 4 minutes apart. When we got there, they said I am still only dilated to between 1 and 2 cm. So they decided I was not in labor despite the contractions. They said I must just have a virus and the contractions were because I was dehydrated. So they hooked me up to an IV and gave me anti-nausea medication. Then they did an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels. Everything looks fine with the baby, so they sent us home. I was still having contractions every 6 minutes when we left, but as I drank more they continued to slow down. It is annoying to have contractions and not have any progress. I am still achy and tired, but hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

One week until the doctor's due date of 7/12! Praying that the baby comes on his own without me having to be induced!