So I've been dealing with a lot of poop lately. Literally that is. Tommy is having some tummy issues and between him and Silas a large chunk of my day is consumed with cleaning up stinky messes. I've been changing sheets, changing outfits (for Tommy, Silas, and me), doing laundry, etc. etc. But in the midst of all this poop there have been some very sweet moments.
There are two special things that happened yesterday that I hope I never forget. First of all Tommy didn't go to church yesterday morning b/c we're afraid he may have a little stomach bug so Kyle stayed home with him. Well when I came home from church I was tired and hungry and had to feed Silas right away. And then Kyle started pointing a few things out to me in a very sweet way that he had done while I was at church. He had washed the dishes, emptied the dishwasher, and taken out the trash all while watching Tommy! All just to serve and help me! How sweet is that! And earlier in the week he got a flat tire, second one within a month, so he called work and told them he wouldn't be able to make it, and he purposefully didn't call me so he could come home a little early and surprise me with flowers! Kyle just went back to school this past week so I've really been missing him. I've been trying really hard to be supportive and encouraging but I've had a couple of emotional break downs. It's a big difference in the amount of time we get to spend together - alone and as a family - when he starts back to school, but I know it's hard work for him so I don't want to give him a hard time either. Anyhow he did some special things to make me feel loved and to serve me so selflessly and I love it and appreciate it so very much! Words can't express!
My other sweet and ever so priceless moment was from yesterday evening. I took Tommy with me to Kroger to get a couple of things including Pedialyte. Don't judge me for taking him to the store, I wiped off the cart handle after we finished so no one would catch his bug, if it's a bug and if it's contagious, and we were there for less than 15 minutes. So we get home from the grocery store and I'm sitting on the floor of the kitchen in front of the fridge making room for the things we just bought. And out of no where I feel two little arms come up from behind me and wrap around my neck. I got one of the absolutely best hugs of my life! And in all sincerity I'm not over exaggerating. To feel my precious boy come give me a hug on his on volition, man talk about melt my heart! My heart was overfilled with love and joy at that moment! I thanked him for the hug and then scooped him around, putting him in front of me, and asked for another hug, and he walked towards me and gave me another "squeeze" (that's what we call hugs). And he let me hug him for a good long minute and I just squeezed him and told him how much I loved him and his hugs. This also made me think about the many women who choose to have abortions when they think their child might have Down Syndrome. It deeply saddens my heart to consider this for many reasons. A big one is b/c those women are being so selfish but I felt so sad for them that they chose to never get to experience the feeling I felt when he hugged me. What a loss. Now that hug didn't mean more to me b/c Tommy has Down Syndrome, it just meant so much to me b/c he is my son. Even through all the poop, my boys bring so much love and joy in my life!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Mushy Monday - My Mom
I am so very thankful for my parents and today my post is going to about my mom. This weekend she passed a big exam that she's been trying to pass for a while now and I am so proud of her for working so hard and achieving what she wanted to achieve. And on the other hand I could care less that she passed the exam, it makes her no more valuable in my eyes. That may sound mean but I mean it in a good way, no test or job title could ever make her mean more to me than she already does. But I love her very much so I am truly thrilled for her because I know it means so much to her and she worked so hard at it.
I have the best mom in the world and Tommy and Silas have the best grandma in the world! My mom is by no means perfect but she is extremely selfless and tries very hard to be perfect for us. I have always been close to my mom, sometimes probably too close b/c I wasn't always respectful to her b/c she was such a good friend to me that I didn't treat her as my mother. And now that I am a mom I hate to think about the many ways I have disrespected, ignored, and blatantly disobeyed my parents when I was growing up, and the sad thing was I thought I was a really good kid.
My mom and her siblings had a very rough childhood. And as I think about the things my mom had to go through, going in and out of the orphanage, having parents who loved her but weren't completely capable of showing it, and all the hardships she's endured it breaks my heart. She's my mom, but before she was my mom she was a newlywed, and a teenager, and a little kid. You don't always think about that when you think about your parents, especially before you are a parent. It seriously wasn't until after I had Tommy that I realized my mom is human! Ha! How insane is that? I had this high expectation for my mom that she was never supposed to mess up, never supposed to hurt my feelings, God forbid she be a sinner! AAAH! Thankfully after 24 years of life a light bulb went off in my head and I thought, why am I allowed to mess up but mom's not?! Well she is. And I hope that now I have much more grace in my relationship with my mom than I did as a child and a teenager.
Anyhow I wish that I could go back in time and love my mom as a little kid. I wish that I could swoop in and take her out of her past and provide her with a whole new one where she felt secure and loved and safe at every moment. But the Lord has done a great work in her life. While I know she can't forget or escape her past I know the Lord has used it for good. She is such a great mom and grandma to me and my kids and it has given me a huge desire to adopt some day.
When you have good parents you take them for granted. You may not do it intentionally b/c it is all you know. You have good parents so you don't know what it's like to have bad parents. It wasn't until Kyle worked at a local boy's home which is an "orphanage" but really it's an in between place for foster care and juvie. But when he worked there we saw first hand the vital role a single parent or even both parents play in a child's life. Isn't it crazy to think how one boy who ends up in jail could have had a whole different life if he would have had a mother or father to show him what it means to be a Godly man? The Lord used that job in a great way in our lives b/c it gave us a stronger burden for orphans here in the U.S. when a growing trend, which is a great growing trend by the way, is people focusing on orphans overseas. Kyle and I had been focused on doing overseas missions, which we still hope to do in some capacity, but this job really showed us that our country needs a lot of help in this area.
While I know I can't go back in time and take care of my mom, before she was my mom haha, it does make me appreciate all that she has gone through to become such a wonderful woman.
I have the best mom in the world and Tommy and Silas have the best grandma in the world! My mom is by no means perfect but she is extremely selfless and tries very hard to be perfect for us. I have always been close to my mom, sometimes probably too close b/c I wasn't always respectful to her b/c she was such a good friend to me that I didn't treat her as my mother. And now that I am a mom I hate to think about the many ways I have disrespected, ignored, and blatantly disobeyed my parents when I was growing up, and the sad thing was I thought I was a really good kid.
My mom and her siblings had a very rough childhood. And as I think about the things my mom had to go through, going in and out of the orphanage, having parents who loved her but weren't completely capable of showing it, and all the hardships she's endured it breaks my heart. She's my mom, but before she was my mom she was a newlywed, and a teenager, and a little kid. You don't always think about that when you think about your parents, especially before you are a parent. It seriously wasn't until after I had Tommy that I realized my mom is human! Ha! How insane is that? I had this high expectation for my mom that she was never supposed to mess up, never supposed to hurt my feelings, God forbid she be a sinner! AAAH! Thankfully after 24 years of life a light bulb went off in my head and I thought, why am I allowed to mess up but mom's not?! Well she is. And I hope that now I have much more grace in my relationship with my mom than I did as a child and a teenager.
Anyhow I wish that I could go back in time and love my mom as a little kid. I wish that I could swoop in and take her out of her past and provide her with a whole new one where she felt secure and loved and safe at every moment. But the Lord has done a great work in her life. While I know she can't forget or escape her past I know the Lord has used it for good. She is such a great mom and grandma to me and my kids and it has given me a huge desire to adopt some day.
When you have good parents you take them for granted. You may not do it intentionally b/c it is all you know. You have good parents so you don't know what it's like to have bad parents. It wasn't until Kyle worked at a local boy's home which is an "orphanage" but really it's an in between place for foster care and juvie. But when he worked there we saw first hand the vital role a single parent or even both parents play in a child's life. Isn't it crazy to think how one boy who ends up in jail could have had a whole different life if he would have had a mother or father to show him what it means to be a Godly man? The Lord used that job in a great way in our lives b/c it gave us a stronger burden for orphans here in the U.S. when a growing trend, which is a great growing trend by the way, is people focusing on orphans overseas. Kyle and I had been focused on doing overseas missions, which we still hope to do in some capacity, but this job really showed us that our country needs a lot of help in this area.
While I know I can't go back in time and take care of my mom, before she was my mom haha, it does make me appreciate all that she has gone through to become such a wonderful woman.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Mushy Monday - You are my Sunshine
Tonight as a I put Tommy to bed I was remembering when he had his heart surgery. I started a post about his surgery right after he had it but I never finished it...and I don't want to. I want to remember God's goodness to us in his surgery and the blessing of him being able to have his heart fixed, but I don't want to dwell on the details. In one way it feels like he never had heart surgery and almost like it was a dream. On the other hand if I sit and really think about it and go back to those memories, my chest tightens and I get a big lump in my throat. I've always been the kind of person who relives their emotions when they remember things, it can be good and bad thing. In this case I'd say it's a bad thing. Anyway enough serious negativity, the sweet thing I hope I never forget is how each time Tommy would start to get fussy, I'd get right next to his ear (b/c we weren't in a private room, curtains were are walls in the PICU) and I would sing, "You are my sunshine." I sing this to Tommy every day at his nap time. But I have changed the words, first verse is always you are my sunshine, then you are my baby, then you are my Tommy. And I change the end, instead of, "Please don't take my sunshine away," it is "Oh please be my sunshine always".
Anyhow I never really knew if Tommy liked the song, I just sang it anyway. And now I feel like it's his special song, I haven't even sung it to Silas b/c I feel like it would be cheating on Tommy haha! But when he had his surgery, there were times when his medicine would be wearing off, or he was just restless and he would start to fuss and squirm. And I would get right next to that precious ear and start singing and I would rub his head and he would immediately calm down. Oh how I felt that bond of being his mom and him being my son. My voice in a song he was so used to hearing comforted him when nothing else seemed like it would. I feel and felt so blessed to have that connection and ability to love him in that way. I can't even tell you how many times I sang that to him while we were at the hospital but apparently our neighbors, the people on the other side of the curtain, could hear me. Their daughter had gotten a little stuffed duck that sang "you are my sunshine" and they wanted Tommy to see it.
And now at nap time I still sing it to him. I am so so so thankful that he had the surgery and is thriving so well. We can really tell that he is growing so much more now. When he was 12 months old he weighed 19lbs, when he had the surgery he was still right around 19 lbs and he was 22 months old. Now he is 24lbs and growing and he's 27 months. He wore his 12 month summer clothes for right around a year, longer I think, and we just boxed those clothes up and he's moving into 24 month shirts and Pj's but still wearing 12-18 month shorts and pants. But I won't complain about him taking longer to grow, I actually kind of enjoyed it, I got to cherish his young age longer. At the rate Silas is growing, he'll be wearing the clothes I just boxed up from Tommy in the fall.
I know all my mushy posts have been about the kids lately, but they're a huge part of my life, and they bring so much meaning and purpose to my life. I am so glad the Lord has entrusted us with both Tommy and Silas.
Check out our healthy growing boy!!
Anyhow I never really knew if Tommy liked the song, I just sang it anyway. And now I feel like it's his special song, I haven't even sung it to Silas b/c I feel like it would be cheating on Tommy haha! But when he had his surgery, there were times when his medicine would be wearing off, or he was just restless and he would start to fuss and squirm. And I would get right next to that precious ear and start singing and I would rub his head and he would immediately calm down. Oh how I felt that bond of being his mom and him being my son. My voice in a song he was so used to hearing comforted him when nothing else seemed like it would. I feel and felt so blessed to have that connection and ability to love him in that way. I can't even tell you how many times I sang that to him while we were at the hospital but apparently our neighbors, the people on the other side of the curtain, could hear me. Their daughter had gotten a little stuffed duck that sang "you are my sunshine" and they wanted Tommy to see it.
And now at nap time I still sing it to him. I am so so so thankful that he had the surgery and is thriving so well. We can really tell that he is growing so much more now. When he was 12 months old he weighed 19lbs, when he had the surgery he was still right around 19 lbs and he was 22 months old. Now he is 24lbs and growing and he's 27 months. He wore his 12 month summer clothes for right around a year, longer I think, and we just boxed those clothes up and he's moving into 24 month shirts and Pj's but still wearing 12-18 month shorts and pants. But I won't complain about him taking longer to grow, I actually kind of enjoyed it, I got to cherish his young age longer. At the rate Silas is growing, he'll be wearing the clothes I just boxed up from Tommy in the fall.
I know all my mushy posts have been about the kids lately, but they're a huge part of my life, and they bring so much meaning and purpose to my life. I am so glad the Lord has entrusted us with both Tommy and Silas.
Check out our healthy growing boy!!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Mushy Monday - Silas Smiles
Silas has been smiling since he was exactly 4 weeks old. But he is smiling more and more all the time and it is PRICELESS! His whole face lights up! Silas is a very serious baby. He has the nickname: Grumpy (from Kyle), Silas the serious, serious Silas...and so on. He is a studier, he's not a big snuggler, he's very strong and sturdy, and very healthy, aka chunky! Anyway when he smiles it absolutely melts my heart! His eyes smile along with his precious mouth. And those cheeks! Those chubby chubby cheeks raise up and and he has a little dimple on the right side of his mouth. He's so stinking handsome, and his eyelashes are growing. We had a chat the other day, Silas and I did, about how the girls will be chasing him and his big brother, especially with their amazing lashes. But not to worry mommy will fight them off. Silas boy is now 2 months old, we went to the doctor and he's 13lbs 4 oz, 23 1/2 inches long, 98th percentile! That's my baby! Here's a peek at his priceless grins!
Oh my word! How my heart grows everyday with more love for this boy! He is just so stinking precious!
Big Brother and Little Brother
And my precious Tom Tom! My heart is seriously overflowing! I now understand why people keep having kid after kid. It's rough in the beginning but the rewards are such a blessing! I can't believe how Tommy is growing! He is so stinking big! His torso is sooo long! He looks so unproportional in outfits b/c his shirts are huge, to cover his belly (lengthwise not b/c he's fat), and his shorts are tiny b/c he's so skinny they have to be small to stay up, and his little legs are short too. What a blessing Tommy is, I was thanking the Lord last night for how well Tommy responds to correction and discipline. We are trying to teach him not to throw toys, something he's been doing for almost his whole life. He has just gotten too strong so it hurts if you get hit by them and for Silas' safety it's time to stop that "fun" game. But he is doing much better than anticipated with it, and our house is staying much straighter! I hope that all of our children listen and respond as well as Tommy does. And I'm sure as I type this, he'll wake up from his nap and not listen to a thing I say for the rest of the day! haha! That's just how it goes, if you brag about something they do, they usually stop right after!
I love my boys...but now I need a girl ;)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Mushy Monday - Brothers!
Need I say more?! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my boys! Each week that passes by it seems that life is becoming more and more manageable with these two cuties! Oh they melt my heart! My mushy post for today is to remember how Tommy is developing a love for his little brother. He is being affectionate and loving towards Silas all on his own. My favorite is when he doesn't even know we're watching. When we are watching and he knows it, Tommy enjoys the attention and will be sweet to Silas so he can hear us exclaim "AWWW!" But today I was watching from the kitchen while Tommy was playing in the family room, I was watching to make sure he was being careful and not throwing things at Silas, whether it be intentional or unintentional. Anyway Silas was in his little bouncy seat facing the window, Tommy walked behind the seat, rubbed Silas' head gently and just kept walking to his next activity! How precious! Oh how it brings joy and love to my heart! Yesterday Tommy didn't know I was watching and Silas was on the couch, Tommy walked up and gave Silas knuckles b/c clearly Silas' fist hanging out meant he wanted knuckles from his big brother :) I look forward to watching this love, friendship, and brotherhood grow through out the years!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Mushy Monday
Well clearly I am slacking when it comes to blogging but I'm hoping that if I am intentional to write them ahead of time, when I actually have the spare time, that I will start doing better. So life as a mom of two is a lot more work than I anticipated. And that's mainly because Silas was not the happiest camper his first few weeks of life. But I am happy to report that he is doing much better! He has his moments or days when he's fussy but he is now consolable and Tommy is learning to be more patient when he wants attention.
I am actually really enjoying having two boys now. I was very scared the first few weeks b/c to be frank, I was not enjoying it. But it's hard when you have a baby that won't stop crying and a two year old who wants to be loved on and played with and it seems like you can't keep either of them happy. At the time I thought I didn't want more kids but my mind has now changed. I just think we'll try to space them apart a little longer next time, but the Lord may have other plans, we shall see.
Silas is 7 weeks old today! He is such a handsome little guy and he is so sweet. He is smiling, his favorite smiley time is in the mornings, when it's just me and him. Tommy is really starting to like him now, he comes up and gets in his face and smiles at him, gives him kisses, loves on him. But we also deal with Tommy hitting him, not really hard but it's in a mean/I want a reaction from mom and dad, type of way. So he gets in trouble if he does that, or if he intentionally throws a toy at him. He's only intentionally thrown a block at him once or twice and he threw it softly - it was clear he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing it. Oh the life of a rebellious toddler. Tommy is definitely testing the waters these days. And in big news - he now knows how to throw a fit! AAAH! Where do kids learn this stuff?! But we are quick to discipline him in hopes that it won't stick. I mean when I was little I never threw a fit! My mom commented the other day that Tommy was just taking after his mama. I was the baby of four girls, I threw way too many fits. Oh well, we do the best we can. He's a happy healthy, beautiful two year old boy and we love him so much!
It's been so fun for me to watch Kyle and Tommy's relationship change in the past couple of months. Tommy is his daddy's shadow. Kyle loves to play computer games and now he has to shut the door to the office when he goes play or his shadow comes in and takes over the office. Kyle let's him come in for a little while and sit with him, but then Tom gets antsy and starts pulling things off the desk or knocking things over. Anyway this morning Kyle was walking out of the family room towards the office and I said, "Are you going to play a game?" and Tommy responded, "Yeah." Haha it was hilarious! Kyle is enjoying the extra attention from Tommy too. Tommy's at a fun age where he loves to play little games and is very curious about everything. It gives me so much joy to watch Kyle and Tommy's friendship. I love it! Oh and Kyle has also informed me that this "hobby" of video and computer games is going to end up costing us big bucks some day when all three of them need their own computer to play games together. Oh my word!
In other Silas news - he has become more content in the past few weeks, we can actually sit him down in the bouncy seat or swing for a while and he won't cry, which is very nice for the rest of the family. He is a super fast eater, he eats for 10 minutes or less. The other day, during a growth spurt I'm sure, he nursed for a total of 15 minutes! I was shocked! Haha I love that he's a quick eater though, it makes nursing a billion times easier. And his muscle tone makes it waaaaaay easier too! However, Kyle and I both agree that a huge advantage to low muscle tone is a snugly baby. Silas likes to snuggle but he's stiff, Tommy is our little bowl of flexible jello! Tommy actually has decent muscle tone but he isn't rigid. I know it's good for Silas to have good muscle tone but there are perks to lower muscle tone too. Silas is now getting up once in the middle of the night to eat, which is pretty sweet. However he is not the most sound sleeper. He cries a lot in his sleep, so I think he's awake and come check on him but he's asleep. And lately he is not wanting to nap in his bed/bassinet. Oh well, we'll figure it all out with time. One last thing, then I'm getting off her to hang out with my husband for the rest of nap time. We have thought all along that Tommy and Silas don't really look alike, turns out we kind of forgot what Tommy looked like as a baby. I found a few pictures where they look so much alike! The main difference is their eyes, the shape and size. They both have beautiful eyes but they're very different. I was thrilled when I saw they looked alike! I love my precious boys!
I am actually really enjoying having two boys now. I was very scared the first few weeks b/c to be frank, I was not enjoying it. But it's hard when you have a baby that won't stop crying and a two year old who wants to be loved on and played with and it seems like you can't keep either of them happy. At the time I thought I didn't want more kids but my mind has now changed. I just think we'll try to space them apart a little longer next time, but the Lord may have other plans, we shall see.
Silas is 7 weeks old today! He is such a handsome little guy and he is so sweet. He is smiling, his favorite smiley time is in the mornings, when it's just me and him. Tommy is really starting to like him now, he comes up and gets in his face and smiles at him, gives him kisses, loves on him. But we also deal with Tommy hitting him, not really hard but it's in a mean/I want a reaction from mom and dad, type of way. So he gets in trouble if he does that, or if he intentionally throws a toy at him. He's only intentionally thrown a block at him once or twice and he threw it softly - it was clear he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing it. Oh the life of a rebellious toddler. Tommy is definitely testing the waters these days. And in big news - he now knows how to throw a fit! AAAH! Where do kids learn this stuff?! But we are quick to discipline him in hopes that it won't stick. I mean when I was little I never threw a fit! My mom commented the other day that Tommy was just taking after his mama. I was the baby of four girls, I threw way too many fits. Oh well, we do the best we can. He's a happy healthy, beautiful two year old boy and we love him so much!
It's been so fun for me to watch Kyle and Tommy's relationship change in the past couple of months. Tommy is his daddy's shadow. Kyle loves to play computer games and now he has to shut the door to the office when he goes play or his shadow comes in and takes over the office. Kyle let's him come in for a little while and sit with him, but then Tom gets antsy and starts pulling things off the desk or knocking things over. Anyway this morning Kyle was walking out of the family room towards the office and I said, "Are you going to play a game?" and Tommy responded, "Yeah." Haha it was hilarious! Kyle is enjoying the extra attention from Tommy too. Tommy's at a fun age where he loves to play little games and is very curious about everything. It gives me so much joy to watch Kyle and Tommy's friendship. I love it! Oh and Kyle has also informed me that this "hobby" of video and computer games is going to end up costing us big bucks some day when all three of them need their own computer to play games together. Oh my word!
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Mushy Monday
Well I had the mushiest Monday of my life three weeks ago on May 21, 2012! Our baby boy, Silas Edwin Marlette was welcomed into this world at 6:19 PM, weighing in at 7lbs 13.7 oz, 20" long! We were so surprised when he came out and we found out he was a boy! My feelings kept wavering between boy and girl, and Silas played along perfectly with his heart rate averaging between 145-155. He is beautiful and we are so blessed!
So here's how it all went down - Sunday afternoon I went to a baby shower for my sweet friend Tara where I saw my friend Hannah. Hannah and I met in college but we never really got to know each other that well so this shower was especially fun b/c we got to talk a lot, and we talked a lot about babies! We both have one already and we were both due around the same time. Anyhow she had told me about her water braking with her daughter and I asked what it was like. By the grace of God we had this conversation. She explained it perfectly and the next morning I literally awoke to that feeling! Haha God has a great sense of humor and is so kind to allow me to not only enjoy a good time with a friend but also learn something that was pretty dang important! In all seriousness I never would have even questioned if my water was broken had she not told me what it was like. So around 7:00 AM on the 21st I woke up and told Kyle, "I think my water broke?!" I was really confused and didn't expect this to happen. Needless to say after being up for about 15 minutes I realized my water was in fact leaking. Sorry if that sounds gross, it just wasn't a big event like I had somewhat expected. So Kyle went back to bed, thinking we'd wait until my contractions got close together to go to the hospital, but the doctor said we had to go to the hospital right away. Side note - I would have been 39 weeks the next day, May 22nd, so we were safe to have the baby. So Kyle got up and started getting ready and I did the same. Even though our bags were packed, Tommy's wasn't and there a few last minute things to throw in. I was running around like a mad woman. I wanted to wake Tommy up before we left b/c I wanted to tell him goodbye and hold him before we met his new sibling. We ended up taking him with us to the hospital and my parents met us there to help take care of him and then my sister Jennifer watched him the rest of the day.
We ended up getting to the hospital around 8:45. They confirmed that my water broke, hooked me up to all the machines, and told me they'd give me 6 hours for my contractions to start making a pattern and if they weren't at that point then they'd start pitocin. Well 6 hours went by and I wasn't really progressing. I was completely comfortable, I had some contractions, but they weren't regular or hard contractions. So around 1:00 in the afternoon they started the pitocin. I hate pitocin. My body reacts very strongly to it. But since it took a little bit for my body to show it reacted strongly they kept increasing the amount every 30 minutes to get my contractions going. I think it was around 3 or 4 in the afternoon when I got my epidural, I could be completely wrong on that! Anyway I went in at 3cm and when I got my epidural I was 6cm. And then at 6:00 it was time for baby Silas to come! Delivery was a bajillion times easier this time around, all except for the fact that I forgot the right way to breath when pushing! Haha I felt like an idiot! Silas was out by the third contraction, but if I had been breathing/pushing right I think he would have been out the first contraction! I had absolutely wonderful nurses and a great doctor, even though she wasn't my regular OB. Oh and our mom's (my mom and Kyle's mom) cut the cord! Kyle and I both think it's gross and our mom's thought it was great that they got to cut it!
This time around was a lot different than our experience with Tommy. I got to hold Silas right away and do skin to skin time. It was awesome! He nursed right away and then after a long time of snuggling with his mama, Kyle got to hold him! When Tommy was born, Kyle didn't get to hold him until around 10:00 at night and he was born at 6:06. So this was amazing for both of us! And I feel a little sad for Tommy that he didn't get that same experience but I know he was well taken care of and it was necessary for him not to do that b/c he needed medical attention.
Silas is now 3 weeks old. He is a handsome little guy, with very chubby cheeks! He's very fuzzy and looks a lot like me when I was a baby, but he has some Marlette qualities as well. We are working on a schedule, just when I think we're on a pretty good one he likes to throw me off and get really hungry out of no where! Oh well he's 3 weeks old, we'll get there. Right now I'm just trying to keep him awake for a little while after he eats and we work on the schedule every day. He usually eats every 3 hours, but the past couple of days he's done every 2-3 hours, but I've heard growth spurts come with the 3's and he just turned 3 weeks old and he definitely looks bigger to me! Tommy is doing awesome! I seriously have cried the past couple of nights thanking the Lord for how well Tommy has been behaving for the past several days. He is learning to be more patient and to play more by himself and to be loving to his sweet baby brother. Tommy does get jealous at times, but it is not aimed at Silas, he doesn't act angry towards him or like he doesn't like him. He just wants some attention too. And Kyle and I are both being intentional about trying to spend special time with Tommy and that really helps. Tommy does struggle with being gentle, he has semi-tackled Silas twice in the past week and smacked him in the head with a toy. But in general Tommy doesn't like to pay attention to where he's walking or looking behind him to see what's there, he just goes for it. So that's something new we're working on.
It is definitely a lot, lot, lot, lot harder having two kids than I thought it would be. I'm not a huge lover of the infant stage and I'm trying to savor it b/c I know it's temporary, but that's also what gives me hope. I know now with Silas being our second that it won't always be this hard, or it at least won't be hard in the same way. Tommy is very mobile now so that throws some extra challenges into the mix. He started taking off walking a week or two before Silas was born. And the first few days at home Tommy was super whiney and had some adjusting to do with all the new changes happening. But it is getting better and I am so thankful that Tommy and Silas have each other to grow with!
And by the way I realize it's Tuesday when I'm writing this! haha! Oh well happy whatever day of the week it is, I know I can't keep track of the days any more!
So here's how it all went down - Sunday afternoon I went to a baby shower for my sweet friend Tara where I saw my friend Hannah. Hannah and I met in college but we never really got to know each other that well so this shower was especially fun b/c we got to talk a lot, and we talked a lot about babies! We both have one already and we were both due around the same time. Anyhow she had told me about her water braking with her daughter and I asked what it was like. By the grace of God we had this conversation. She explained it perfectly and the next morning I literally awoke to that feeling! Haha God has a great sense of humor and is so kind to allow me to not only enjoy a good time with a friend but also learn something that was pretty dang important! In all seriousness I never would have even questioned if my water was broken had she not told me what it was like. So around 7:00 AM on the 21st I woke up and told Kyle, "I think my water broke?!" I was really confused and didn't expect this to happen. Needless to say after being up for about 15 minutes I realized my water was in fact leaking. Sorry if that sounds gross, it just wasn't a big event like I had somewhat expected. So Kyle went back to bed, thinking we'd wait until my contractions got close together to go to the hospital, but the doctor said we had to go to the hospital right away. Side note - I would have been 39 weeks the next day, May 22nd, so we were safe to have the baby. So Kyle got up and started getting ready and I did the same. Even though our bags were packed, Tommy's wasn't and there a few last minute things to throw in. I was running around like a mad woman. I wanted to wake Tommy up before we left b/c I wanted to tell him goodbye and hold him before we met his new sibling. We ended up taking him with us to the hospital and my parents met us there to help take care of him and then my sister Jennifer watched him the rest of the day.
We ended up getting to the hospital around 8:45. They confirmed that my water broke, hooked me up to all the machines, and told me they'd give me 6 hours for my contractions to start making a pattern and if they weren't at that point then they'd start pitocin. Well 6 hours went by and I wasn't really progressing. I was completely comfortable, I had some contractions, but they weren't regular or hard contractions. So around 1:00 in the afternoon they started the pitocin. I hate pitocin. My body reacts very strongly to it. But since it took a little bit for my body to show it reacted strongly they kept increasing the amount every 30 minutes to get my contractions going. I think it was around 3 or 4 in the afternoon when I got my epidural, I could be completely wrong on that! Anyway I went in at 3cm and when I got my epidural I was 6cm. And then at 6:00 it was time for baby Silas to come! Delivery was a bajillion times easier this time around, all except for the fact that I forgot the right way to breath when pushing! Haha I felt like an idiot! Silas was out by the third contraction, but if I had been breathing/pushing right I think he would have been out the first contraction! I had absolutely wonderful nurses and a great doctor, even though she wasn't my regular OB. Oh and our mom's (my mom and Kyle's mom) cut the cord! Kyle and I both think it's gross and our mom's thought it was great that they got to cut it!
This time around was a lot different than our experience with Tommy. I got to hold Silas right away and do skin to skin time. It was awesome! He nursed right away and then after a long time of snuggling with his mama, Kyle got to hold him! When Tommy was born, Kyle didn't get to hold him until around 10:00 at night and he was born at 6:06. So this was amazing for both of us! And I feel a little sad for Tommy that he didn't get that same experience but I know he was well taken care of and it was necessary for him not to do that b/c he needed medical attention.
Silas is now 3 weeks old. He is a handsome little guy, with very chubby cheeks! He's very fuzzy and looks a lot like me when I was a baby, but he has some Marlette qualities as well. We are working on a schedule, just when I think we're on a pretty good one he likes to throw me off and get really hungry out of no where! Oh well he's 3 weeks old, we'll get there. Right now I'm just trying to keep him awake for a little while after he eats and we work on the schedule every day. He usually eats every 3 hours, but the past couple of days he's done every 2-3 hours, but I've heard growth spurts come with the 3's and he just turned 3 weeks old and he definitely looks bigger to me! Tommy is doing awesome! I seriously have cried the past couple of nights thanking the Lord for how well Tommy has been behaving for the past several days. He is learning to be more patient and to play more by himself and to be loving to his sweet baby brother. Tommy does get jealous at times, but it is not aimed at Silas, he doesn't act angry towards him or like he doesn't like him. He just wants some attention too. And Kyle and I are both being intentional about trying to spend special time with Tommy and that really helps. Tommy does struggle with being gentle, he has semi-tackled Silas twice in the past week and smacked him in the head with a toy. But in general Tommy doesn't like to pay attention to where he's walking or looking behind him to see what's there, he just goes for it. So that's something new we're working on.
It is definitely a lot, lot, lot, lot harder having two kids than I thought it would be. I'm not a huge lover of the infant stage and I'm trying to savor it b/c I know it's temporary, but that's also what gives me hope. I know now with Silas being our second that it won't always be this hard, or it at least won't be hard in the same way. Tommy is very mobile now so that throws some extra challenges into the mix. He started taking off walking a week or two before Silas was born. And the first few days at home Tommy was super whiney and had some adjusting to do with all the new changes happening. But it is getting better and I am so thankful that Tommy and Silas have each other to grow with!
(Tommy kissing his baby brother Silas)
And by the way I realize it's Tuesday when I'm writing this! haha! Oh well happy whatever day of the week it is, I know I can't keep track of the days any more!
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