We sing songs slow and fast all the time.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Happy B-day Sam
My sister-in-law's birthday was yesterday and we had Matthew sing in various ways and Jordan posted a little video for her on facebook. You tell me what your favorite part is. We really didn't coach him much and he was cracking us up with his antics.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
That's My Boy
We're nearly two weeks into having a daughter, and I have to admit that I (Jordan) am still adjusting to the idea. Don't get me wrong - I loved her from the moment I saw her, and I feel very blessed - but for me it was really easy with a little boy. Let's just say I'm definitely not picking out the outfits yet.
One thing that has surprised me, though, has been that the way I see Matthew changed almost immediately after Isabelle arrived, and I've come to love and appreciate him in new ways. For one thing, he immediately seemed much older and much bigger, just by comparison. He's also been amazing as a big brother so far. I haven't really seen any jealously or more impatience than usual, and he's really good with her. He's constantly telling us how cute she is, and last night when I was holding her on our bed, Matthew came over and gave her a very soft hug and a kiss on the head.
Isabelle might look a bit like Matthew did, but she's different in a lot of ways from how Matthew was as a baby. So far she's fairly mellow, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. Mellow has never been a term I've used to describe Matthew, and although sometimes his independent, stubborn side drives us a little crazy, he's a lot of fun to have around and makes us laugh a lot.
Today, for example, he crammed all of his fruit snacks into his mouth at once, and of course once we laughed he cheesed it up as much as possible.
After dinner (which he barely touched), I took him out for a walk to feed the ducks. He said the rule was "one for the ducks, and one for me (Matthew)," but in reality the ducks didn't walk away with much. I think he was making up for dinner.
Matthew loves to pick up rocks and sticks wherever he goes, and today he found this one, which served as a walking stick for a while and then as a sword (at which point we had to take it away to protect all involved).
Once we got home, we ran around in the yard for a while, and that was enough to finally wear him out, I guess. After eating a whole can of mandarin oranges, he curled up on our glider and fell asleep.
Now that I do see him as a bit older thanks to Isabelle, I have to admit that I'm tired of changing his diapers. This is a kid who can now use a computer mouse and (without help) open Internet Explorer, open the link to his Playhouse Disney games, and start playing, and yet he can't go to the bathroom. I shouldn't say that he can't, because I know he knows how, but he's being pretty stubborn about it. We're trying not to be too annoying about it, but he now is only allowed to play computer games when he goes in the potty. Surprisingly, he's chosen to stay in his diapers rather than play computer games. We'll see how long this lasts - I saw Ray and EmmaLee follow a pretty similar strategy with James a year or two ago, and he made pretty much the same choice for a while. Like most things, I think he just wants to do it on his own terms.
On a quick side-note, it looks like we'll actually get some limes out of our lime tree. We'll see how edible they are, but they're popping up all over our tree right now. Our orange tree isn't fairing quite so well, unfortunately, but it has a few little oranges starting to grow on it. I'm pleasantly surprised, anyway, because I thought it would be a few years before we saw any fruit.
One thing that has surprised me, though, has been that the way I see Matthew changed almost immediately after Isabelle arrived, and I've come to love and appreciate him in new ways. For one thing, he immediately seemed much older and much bigger, just by comparison. He's also been amazing as a big brother so far. I haven't really seen any jealously or more impatience than usual, and he's really good with her. He's constantly telling us how cute she is, and last night when I was holding her on our bed, Matthew came over and gave her a very soft hug and a kiss on the head.
Isabelle might look a bit like Matthew did, but she's different in a lot of ways from how Matthew was as a baby. So far she's fairly mellow, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. Mellow has never been a term I've used to describe Matthew, and although sometimes his independent, stubborn side drives us a little crazy, he's a lot of fun to have around and makes us laugh a lot.
Today, for example, he crammed all of his fruit snacks into his mouth at once, and of course once we laughed he cheesed it up as much as possible.
After dinner (which he barely touched), I took him out for a walk to feed the ducks. He said the rule was "one for the ducks, and one for me (Matthew)," but in reality the ducks didn't walk away with much. I think he was making up for dinner.
Matthew loves to pick up rocks and sticks wherever he goes, and today he found this one, which served as a walking stick for a while and then as a sword (at which point we had to take it away to protect all involved).
Once we got home, we ran around in the yard for a while, and that was enough to finally wear him out, I guess. After eating a whole can of mandarin oranges, he curled up on our glider and fell asleep.
Now that I do see him as a bit older thanks to Isabelle, I have to admit that I'm tired of changing his diapers. This is a kid who can now use a computer mouse and (without help) open Internet Explorer, open the link to his Playhouse Disney games, and start playing, and yet he can't go to the bathroom. I shouldn't say that he can't, because I know he knows how, but he's being pretty stubborn about it. We're trying not to be too annoying about it, but he now is only allowed to play computer games when he goes in the potty. Surprisingly, he's chosen to stay in his diapers rather than play computer games. We'll see how long this lasts - I saw Ray and EmmaLee follow a pretty similar strategy with James a year or two ago, and he made pretty much the same choice for a while. Like most things, I think he just wants to do it on his own terms.
On a quick side-note, it looks like we'll actually get some limes out of our lime tree. We'll see how edible they are, but they're popping up all over our tree right now. Our orange tree isn't fairing quite so well, unfortunately, but it has a few little oranges starting to grow on it. I'm pleasantly surprised, anyway, because I thought it would be a few years before we saw any fruit.
I have been resisting facebook for far too long. I'm pretty busy at work and when I get home from work (before having Isabelle) we were making dinner, playing with Matthew, getting him ready for bed, cleaning the house, and relaxing a bit before heading to bed. I usually would just check my gmail after I got home and that's about as much internet stuff I usually wanted to do. Jordan has been pressuring me for awhile to join, but I didn't want it to take over my life and honestly was too lazy to set-up my account. While in the hospital with Isabelle Jordan forced me to join facebook. He thought this would be a good way to help occupy my time while on maternity leave and pretty much said I have no excuses now. He set-up my account, asked people to be my friends and got me going. (Ok, Jordan was not this mean but did set-up my account and got me going).
Now I have to admit facebook is pretty fun and it's a great way to connect with friends and family and see what people are up to. I'm sure my usage will get slower when I go back to work, and am trying to juggle the responsibilities of 2 kids and the house but it's been pretty fun so far while my life is a bit slower.
So....even though it's taken me awhile to finally join I encourage you to sign-up and get going if you haven't already. I'll even be your friend!
If you are on facebook and I'm not your friend then ask me to be-I love having new friends!
Now I have to admit facebook is pretty fun and it's a great way to connect with friends and family and see what people are up to. I'm sure my usage will get slower when I go back to work, and am trying to juggle the responsibilities of 2 kids and the house but it's been pretty fun so far while my life is a bit slower.
So....even though it's taken me awhile to finally join I encourage you to sign-up and get going if you haven't already. I'll even be your friend!
If you are on facebook and I'm not your friend then ask me to be-I love having new friends!
Monday, April 20, 2009
10 days post birth
-Isabelle is regularly eating about every 3 hours. Pretty sleepy still and falls asleep every time she eats.
-Isabelle is a peeing and pooping machine. She has peed on us more in the last 10 days than Matthew ever did. Matthew maybe peed on me a total of 2 times ever. I think she must just get super relaxed when her diaper is off.
-I'm off my pain medicine and feeling way better than I thought I would 10 days after surgery. A week ago there were definitely not going to be any additional children in our future but now there's a slight "maybe" to 1 more child. We'll see.
-Matthew has been so great with Isabelle. He wants to see her, calls her "so cute" and is really gentle so far with her. I'm pretty impressed. He even finally held her today. Of course in the waiting room at the lab place and I didn't have my camera.
-We'll be starting the baby wise schedule system with Isabelle soon. We did it with Matthew and it worked wonders. He was a super happy baby and could put himself to sleep. Looking forward to starting this in a few days.
-Had Isabelle's follow-up PKU test today. I made Jordan take her in to get poked as I hate when babies cry from being poked. She was NOT happy! We took our first outing as a family of 4 and both kids did great! Our car was full.
-I am sleep deprived but somehow getting through it.
-I finally painted my toenails yesterday. Simple things like that make me happy.
-The swelling and water weight is slowly disappearing. My feet look somewhat normal today.
-We are now a family of 4 which seems so weird to say.
-We are attempting to potty train Matthew and are hoping that bribery with computer games will work. So far no luck he just chooses something else to do. Would I be an evil mom if I played his favorite games in front of him? Man is this kid stubborn....wonder who he gets it from.
-We are attempting to potty train Matthew and are hoping that bribery with computer games will work. So far no luck he just chooses something else to do. Would I be an evil mom if I played his favorite games in front of him? Man is this kid stubborn....wonder who he gets it from.
Isabelle does this 1 eye open thing. She'll either have 1 eye close later when going to sleep than the other or 1 eye opens sooner when waking up. She was drifing off to no mans land here. I love this cute bow/headband that I got as a gift. It doesn't squish her head and is super stretchy.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Newborns
We ended up leaving the hospital on Sunday and all of the staff thought we were crazy! My parents were at home to help with Matthew and I was feeling pretty good so we left after being there a little over 2 days. We were bored there and just wanted to be home with everyone. My Dr. told me yesterday when I got my staples out that I was very rare and most people want to be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. I'm in a little pain but as long as I stay on top of my medicine then I feel pretty good.
Getting ready to leave the hospital. I found a cute girlie carseat cover and love it! Isabelle already loves her binkie.
Isabelle had pulled the covers over her head last night-silly girl!
Isabelle is so petite and seems so much smaller than Matthew ever was. He was born at 8 pds 12 oz., left the hospital at 8 pds 1 oz. and was almost back at his birth weight by the time we had his first check-up. He gained weight very quickly and was at 12 pds by 1 month I think.
I love Isabelle's little ears, tiny nose, fingers, toes and teeny tiny little mouth. I know she won't stay this way very long so I'm trying to just enjoy this newborn time. Right now we are feeding on demand and it will be nice in a couple of weeks when we can get into a routine. I'm hoping she'll be the kind of baby that will love a routine. She's pretty mellow so far and really only wimpers or cries when she's hungry and I don't get her quick enough or is naked. She really doesn't care if she's poopy or wet. Yesterday she had her first sponge bath and even though she didn't cry I could tell she was cold and didn't really love it. It will be better when I can give her a real bath once her cord falls off.
Poor girl-freezing even though the sponge was warm and I was washing her off with warm water. Her hair poofed out everywhere once it was dry.
My feet and legs are huge and swollen and I'm hoping this water weight disappears quickly. I'm sick of my feet hurting.
Super sweet photo I took of her this afternoon. She loves her little onesie dress gowns. They keep her super warm.
Getting ready to leave the hospital. I found a cute girlie carseat cover and love it! Isabelle already loves her binkie.
I had forgotten how much newborns sleep. Isabelle has been a great sleeper and eater since she arrived into this world. I am breastfeeding and she got in my milk in before I left the hospital. Although I am tired she's doing really good and has gained a little bit of weight. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and she's at 7 pds 3 oz. so she's gaining some weight back.
Isabelle had pulled the covers over her head last night-silly girl!
Isabelle is so petite and seems so much smaller than Matthew ever was. He was born at 8 pds 12 oz., left the hospital at 8 pds 1 oz. and was almost back at his birth weight by the time we had his first check-up. He gained weight very quickly and was at 12 pds by 1 month I think.
I love Isabelle's little ears, tiny nose, fingers, toes and teeny tiny little mouth. I know she won't stay this way very long so I'm trying to just enjoy this newborn time. Right now we are feeding on demand and it will be nice in a couple of weeks when we can get into a routine. I'm hoping she'll be the kind of baby that will love a routine. She's pretty mellow so far and really only wimpers or cries when she's hungry and I don't get her quick enough or is naked. She really doesn't care if she's poopy or wet. Yesterday she had her first sponge bath and even though she didn't cry I could tell she was cold and didn't really love it. It will be better when I can give her a real bath once her cord falls off.
Poor girl-freezing even though the sponge was warm and I was washing her off with warm water. Her hair poofed out everywhere once it was dry.
My feet and legs are huge and swollen and I'm hoping this water weight disappears quickly. I'm sick of my feet hurting.
Super sweet photo I took of her this afternoon. She loves her little onesie dress gowns. They keep her super warm.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Siblings
Since Matthew was our first, we didn't really have a track record in terms of what our kids look like. We have been very curious as a result about whether Isabelle would look a lot like Matthew or really different. When I (Jordan - have to tell you that since Karin usually posts here) first saw Isabelle, at the time a bit slimy and a bit purple, I thought she looked a lot like Matthew did. I still do, although now I see some little differences, too, when I put the two side-by-side. Isabelle is on the left and Matthew on the right:
Just a little bit of an update from Karin:
-Our day started off stressful because I forgot my ID/insurance info and didn't realize it until we were halfway to the hospital. We had to turn around and go get it as we didn't know if they would admit me with it or not. We ended up being 20 min. late, but had called. In the end I didn't even need it.
-My IV took 3 tries, since the first 2 blew once they were in. I have a huge bruise on one of my arms.
-I had to drink this stuff right before surgery that was HORRIBLE to help neutralize my stomach in case I threw up which of course I did.
-The spinal block wasn't too bad. I did feel the needle the first time it went in (you get a local painkiller first which didn't work completely). I was shivering out of control and they got me warm blankets which helped and then of course I threw up a couple of times. I was yelling that I was going to throw up the first time and even Jordan heard that while he was in the hall and giggled at me. I wanted to make sure I got something in time before I barfed.
-Once they started the first incision it was about 6 min. before she was out. It totally made me cry once I saw her and at first she was having a hard time expelling crap from her lungs (usual for c-section babies) so I was worried about her, but they took her to the nursery and Jordan went with her while I finished getting sewn up. She was doing great once they brought her into the recovery room with me.
-They didn't have any regular rooms available so I was in the recovery area for quite awhile-until just after 2 and was pretty nauseous and dizzy from the morphine and threw up 2-3 more times.
-I was pretty out of it the rest of the day. I felt bad when my parents and Matthew came to visit after going to the zoo as I could barely keep my eyes open. Matthew looked at Isabelle and then was just interested in his toy my parents had bought him.
-I finally started feeling better in the evening and that's when Isabelle decided she wanted to feed constantly until 1:30 am. We finally got a binkie at that time and got her to go to sleep so we could get in a bit of rest. They had me up at 5:00 am to walk so I didn't get much sleep last night.
-This morning my nurse gave me 2 percosets and I got super dizzy again which lasted for a few hours. I'm finally feeling better this afternoon. They took my IV out, my bandage off the incision, and I got to take a shower which felt great!
-I'm doing better than I thought and my nurse this morning (who is awesome) said that I'm doing really well and will probably get to go home tomorrow. I really hope so! I just want to be at home with Matthew and my parents. The hospital is getting old and boring already and my bum hurts from just sitting on this bed. ABC Family has been our best friend today.
Just a little bit of an update from Karin:
-Our day started off stressful because I forgot my ID/insurance info and didn't realize it until we were halfway to the hospital. We had to turn around and go get it as we didn't know if they would admit me with it or not. We ended up being 20 min. late, but had called. In the end I didn't even need it.
-My IV took 3 tries, since the first 2 blew once they were in. I have a huge bruise on one of my arms.
-I had to drink this stuff right before surgery that was HORRIBLE to help neutralize my stomach in case I threw up which of course I did.
-The spinal block wasn't too bad. I did feel the needle the first time it went in (you get a local painkiller first which didn't work completely). I was shivering out of control and they got me warm blankets which helped and then of course I threw up a couple of times. I was yelling that I was going to throw up the first time and even Jordan heard that while he was in the hall and giggled at me. I wanted to make sure I got something in time before I barfed.
-Once they started the first incision it was about 6 min. before she was out. It totally made me cry once I saw her and at first she was having a hard time expelling crap from her lungs (usual for c-section babies) so I was worried about her, but they took her to the nursery and Jordan went with her while I finished getting sewn up. She was doing great once they brought her into the recovery room with me.
-They didn't have any regular rooms available so I was in the recovery area for quite awhile-until just after 2 and was pretty nauseous and dizzy from the morphine and threw up 2-3 more times.
-I was pretty out of it the rest of the day. I felt bad when my parents and Matthew came to visit after going to the zoo as I could barely keep my eyes open. Matthew looked at Isabelle and then was just interested in his toy my parents had bought him.
-I finally started feeling better in the evening and that's when Isabelle decided she wanted to feed constantly until 1:30 am. We finally got a binkie at that time and got her to go to sleep so we could get in a bit of rest. They had me up at 5:00 am to walk so I didn't get much sleep last night.
-This morning my nurse gave me 2 percosets and I got super dizzy again which lasted for a few hours. I'm finally feeling better this afternoon. They took my IV out, my bandage off the incision, and I got to take a shower which felt great!
-I'm doing better than I thought and my nurse this morning (who is awesome) said that I'm doing really well and will probably get to go home tomorrow. I really hope so! I just want to be at home with Matthew and my parents. The hospital is getting old and boring already and my bum hurts from just sitting on this bed. ABC Family has been our best friend today.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Announcing the Arrival of....
Isabelle Sadie Stephens
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
Length: 20-1/4 inches
Here are a few pics, and I'm sure we'll be posting more in the coming days.
Born: April 10, 2009
Time: 7:31 a.m.Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
Length: 20-1/4 inches
Here are a few pics, and I'm sure we'll be posting more in the coming days.
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