The Good, The Bad, and The Sleepy

Good News! We got a new dishwasher after 8 months of maintenance requests! I am happy to report that it works great and our dishes will no longer have to be washed by hand or in the bathtub!

Bad News: Paul took a dive the other day. He missed a step and his face is what stopped him. I am assuming he didn't have time to put this hands down because he got a bloody nose, a fat lip, and a goose egg on his forehead. His poor lip seemed to get the brunt of it though. The road rash above his lip has since scabbed over and the swelling has gone down, but it still looks very painful. Poor kiddo.

The sleepy refers to everyone in our household at this point, but it is Caleb who actually gets sleep. Here is a picture of him taking over our bed. Mom and Dad's bed is always better.

Good News: I am up and about. The healing is going well, and getting out of the house is a much needed event. There are many people who believe taking your child out before 6 weeks is unwise, so go ahead and judge, but we went to the zoo and it was fun.

Bad News: Paul wants to be the baby too. :)

The cute sleepy Caleb

Few Pics

Here is a rare picture of Caleb. We don't have many pictures of him awake. Unlike Paul as an infant, Caleb is pretty mellow and low maintenance. Ahhh :)

Paul has been very good to Caleb. Paul is definitely going through an adjustment period, but I think it's more an adjustment to life with less mom than life with a baby around. I am still in recovery mode and unable to do a lot of walking and lifting. Grandma has been a ton of help, but for a 2 year old sometimes there's no substitute for mom.

Grandma bought a mud bath kit. The soap looks like mud. Paul has been asking for an unusal amount of baths. So much fun!

Baby Tracker

I guess we can get rid of this!!!

Hopefully we go home on Wed!

I never write on the blog but here it goes! Susan is doing pretty good. She didn't start using pain medicine until her uterus started to really shrink. She is not a fan of the pain. She is up and moving around pretty good. So good it is a complete surprise! Caleb seems to enjoy his new world. He does not cry much or loud. I am worried we won't wake up for his quiet whimpers. He is pretty cute though and still does not want to get out of the fetal position with his feet. The hands and arms are another story. They go everywhere! He holds up his head pretty well and is overall pretty strong. I have been pretty fortunate about being able to spend time with Susan. Work has been pretty understanding. It is unfortunately time to get back in the swing of things though. Susan's Mom came into town and has been a huge help. She will be around for a couple of weeks and I am extremely grateful that my father-in-law (Steve) has allowed us to borrow her. Susan and I have both been blessed with wonderful parents!

Below is a picture of Caleb getting his grove on!

Here is a picture of Paul being a good big brother! He is giving Caleb a good "honk honk" squeeze on the nose.

He's Here!

Our newest family addition, Caleb Oliver, arrived at 8:10 Sunday night (Oct 12). He weighed 6lbs. 5oz. and was 19.5 inches long. I went into labor on my own, but did a c-section anyway. I wasn't progressing fast enough and I was in a lot of pain. Everything has gone smoothly since. Paul and Caleb look very similar as newborns. Paul quickly started to look like he does now after a month or two, so I assume the same thing will happen with Caleb. Caleb definitely has more meat on him, but that's because he cooked 3 weeks longer than Paul. Anyway, my point was that I keep calling him Paul because they looked so similar. I feel bad when other people have to correct me in saying my own son's name. Here are some pictures of him. In the family photo he doesn't really look like himself, but you can see his mohawk hair.

A Tribute to Paul

Since the baby is coming in less than a week (my c-section was moved up to this Friday) I thought I would do a post with some of Paul's baby pictures. I am sure there will be a lot of new baby pictures soon, and I wanted to look back and remember Paul as a baby. He is still very baby-like to me, but I have a feeling when the new one comes Paul will all of a sudden seem huge and more kid-like.

Two More Weeks

So I have two weeks left. I have a scheduled c-section for the 20th. I have mixed feelings about having two kids, and about having a second c-section. I was hoping I would go into labor by now and have a better chance at delivering normally, but the bigger the baby gets the more apprehensive I am about doing it that method. Part of me is very excited for this pregnancy to be over with and for Paul to have a playmate eventually, but another LARGE part of me is very nervous. I am nervous about how Paul will react and adjust. He loves babies, but I have observed in other children that that characteristic can fly out the window after the baby doesn't go away. Paul has been very easily provoked into Paul The Ferocious lately which also has me concerned. I could use all the advice I can get! I feel so overwhelmed by him.

We recently made the transition to the big boy bed. He is doing well with it, but he likes to get into the crib to play/jump. We rearranged the bedroom to fit the changing table along with everything else that was previously crammed in the room. I am glad we rearranged a month ago instead of right before because with each new arrangement we find a flaw. With the first arrangement Paul could reach the light switch and door knob. With the second arrangement Paul could climb from his bed onto the changing table and into the crib too easily. I could just see Paul stepping on the baby's head in the middle of the night. With this third arrangement we had to put Paul's slide in storage and he looks out the window while he supposed to be napping, but it's as good as it's gonna get.

I bought a cradle off of Craig's List and we'll keep the boys separated until the new little one is sleeping through the night. I need to find a way for the cradle to be stationary (so it won't rock). Paul has already proven himself too good of a helper, and for that same reason we will not be getting a swing.

And to add on top of all my anxiety, there's something wrong with our kitchen plumbing. Our dishwasher smells rancid and we had a flood in our kitchen. It has been over a week and the maintenance still hasn't come to fix it (I've called several times). Can you picture an eight months pregnant woman doing her dishes in the bathtub? It's quite the site I am sure.

I know all of you would love to see a big belly photo but it ain't happin'. I am just going to avoid all comments such as: "Wow, you really look ready!" and "You look pretty good considering how far along you are." and "You are all baby, I swear!" Well, that's that for now and any advice about a Terrible Two son would be appreciated.