1 month old

I can't believe Ross is 1 month today. This month has flown by. I'm still waiting for his sleeping to be "normal" and by normal I mean for him to sleep by himself...not wake up when we put him down.

Alex still loves his brother and tries to help burp him. Alex loves holding Ross and he's a wonderful big brother.

Birth Announcement pictures

So I got the announcements in today so I'll post the 3 pictures I used. Patrick will mail them out tomorrow :)

Strep Throat

For the 2nd time since Ross was born, Alex has fever. I can't recall if I posted about it, but on Mother's Day Alex had fever. It turned out to be a 24 hour thing and he was fine later on that day.

Today Alex had fever and it was climbing after medicine. He threw up, refused to drink and eat, and even refused a freezy pop. So I called the dr., went in, and he has strep throat.

They gave him a shot of penicillin in his leg and said he'd be so much better within 12 hours. So it's 6 hours after the shot and 2 pukes later his temp is 99.4 and he ate a waffle and didn't throw up.

Last night, Ross was not content to sleep by himself. From 2am until 6am when Alex came in our room, Ross was on me sleeping. Every time I would put him down he'd fuss and whine or cry. Patrick and I are exhausted and I hope tonight is better but I fear it won't be. Ross slept almost the entire day and I really really hope Alex doesn't get sick tonight (i.e. puke in bed). At least we have spare sheets.

oh, and Ross's umbilical stump fell off today. Alex's stayed on forever...I think it was close to 5 weeks before it fell off.

How do the boys compare?

I found it so interesting how different newborn Alex was compared to Ross. Though they look alike, their personalities are so different. Here's a little break down.

Alex/Ross

didn't mind diaper changes/screams during diaper changes

ate like a champ/ eats like a bird

loved the bouncy chair/loves the swing

liked baths/screams during baths

slept well at night/has reflux so we have to keep him sitting in his carrier

could put him down and do things/wants to be held all the time

I realize the Ross side may seem negative but I don't intend it to be. I just can't believe how extremely different they are. I love my Ross and he's a little cuddle bug.

Teaser Pictures

Since no photographers that I use had openings this week, I took it upon myself to do my own newborn pictures. 3 pictures will be on the birth announcements (they're on order). These pictures didn't make the cut, but they're a cute teaser. After the announcements go out I'll post the pics!

PICTURES!

My Mother's Day bouquet. The purple irises were in my wedding bouquet!
Fruit arrangement sent from one of Patrick's ships.
My boys!
My beautiful grandmother :)

Happy Mother's Day to me

Alex woke up with a low grade fever. Shortly after, he threw up. Thankfully it has seemed to subside and he's acting normal but he's very mischevious. I guess that can be attributed to Ross as well.

Ross is doing good...during the day. Seems that he has no concept of nighttime. For him to sleep, either Patrick or I have to be holding him. During the day he sleeps for a few hours at a time without being held. He'll sleep in the playpen, swing, or vibrating chair. At night we've tried all of the previously mentioned things and he's not having it. So, we have taken to sleeping in our recliner. I'll take one shift...usually 3-4 hours, Patrick will take another 3-4 hours.

Alex was so different so we're trying each night to figure out what kinds of trick will work to get him to sleep. We've also added a vibrating element under the co-sleeper to see if that would work. It seemed to work for 30 minutes or so.

Tonight we may try to turn on the bedroom lights and TV to see if that will work.

Ross was born on 4/29

http://babynoble1.shutterfly.com/ross after you view these pictures, at the top click "What's New" and there's more.

Enjoy the pictures of our new addition!

My water broke around 5:30am on Friday, April 29th. 3 hours later, at 8:42 am, Ross Lucien was born. He was 8 lbs 14.5 oz, 19 inches long.

I was due May 15 and had a scheduled c-section for May 11. Ross was born at 37 weeks, 5 days.

Every potty has a pooper, that's why we invited Alex!

After months of struggling with pooping on the potty, he finally pooped tonight. We've gone days with no poop because he refuses to poop on the potty and we refuse to put him in a diaper. After 3 days of no poop I had to put him in a diaper the other day.

Also the other day I put a diaper under the toilet lid in hopes he would poo in to that. That was not a success. In fury I posted on some forums and asked for suggestions. One of the suggestions worked tonight. Here's what I did.

Today I scoured Toys R Us to find the right motivator. I happened to find a huge red remote control car that looks like Lightning McQueen. It was only $20. When Alex said he had to poop I showed him the car. But told him he could not have it, touch it or play with it unless he pooped on the toilet. Patrick said he could see the wheels turning in Alex's head. Alex sat on the toilet and I sat next to him playing with the remote. I wouldn't let Alex touch the car. About 15 minutes later he pooped in the toilet.

I hope this is the end but I fear it might not be. At least we're one step closer to a fully potty trained boy!

5/11/11

My c-section is scheduled for May 11, 2011 :) I wanted May 6, 2011 (5+6=11) and it's my grandpa's birthday but it's in my 38th week of pregnancy and they won't do "elective" sections before the 39th week.

It will be an elective c-section because I already had a section with Alex and this baby, like Alex, is transverse....sitting in a hammock in my belly. It is 99% unlikely that Ross will turn head down.

And if you're curious, I'm miserable. I'm bigger than I was when I delivered Alex. I have carpal tunnel really bad. I have bad sciatica and when I lay on my side (the only way that's remotely comfortable) I feel like my crotch is going to split in two. I toss from left to right side all night long because the pain of the weight of Ross wakes me up. If that doesn't wake me up, heartburn does. On a happier note, I'm wearing the same 5 outfits every week and they're sooo comfortable. All of my pants and shorts roll down my big belly and the shirts aren't long enough to cover. So I have 3 long cotton dresses and 2 pair of stretchy gaucho pants that cover my belly. I wear a few shirts with the pants because the panel in the pants come up so much I have more shirt choices. My shoes are a different story. I'm wearing croc flip-flops that are getting tight and some Clark's Privo shoes that are a wide. I haven't tried tennis shoes in about a month. I'm scared.

All in the name of a healthy baby, but I can't wait to be miserable from being up all night with a newborn.

Belly Pictures

Here are pictures of me at 35 weeks pregnant now and then:

Now, with RossThen, with Alex.

I cannot believe I neglected to this this time around. I guess I can contribute the forgetfulness with my hectic onset of pregnancy, taking care of a busy 3 year old, and pregnancy brain.

some belly pictures

35 weeks

34 weeks

33 weeks

33 weeks

31 weeks
30 weeks @ Endymion Extravaganza

30 weeks

29 weeks

28 weeks

27 weeks

25 weeks

24 weeks

23 weeks

22 weeks

21 weeks
20 weeks
19 weeks
18 weeks
17 weeks

Easter Pictures

We took pictures for Easter with a live bunny. Alex loved the bunny, but he was a pain at listening to directions. He almost refused to smile.

Here's a sneak peek the photographer (Jenni Jacob) posted for me.

not baby, just Alex

I usually answer Alex with "my baby" or "my Alex". Today he asked something and I said, "Wait until Daddy gets home, okay my baby."

He says, "Not baby, just Alex."

Alex's new bed

Alex has a new trundle bed. His old bed is now Ross's crib, as the crib was Alex's full size bed. It was necessary to downsize because I think we have the entire boy section of Toys R Us in his room. With Ross coming, Alex needs more space to play.
Thanks Nana and Grandpa!

Catching up...

Today was a great day! I have some dirty pictures to prove it :)

Alex getting some serious air.

Who? Me?

This is how I made the fun mud puddle.

Mom caught the splash on film.

Action shot!

Ginny Stone

Grandpa's work had an open house (boat) and we got to see the inside of a tug boat. This boat had many bedrooms, a lounge, an exercise room, and more. The people that work on this boat spend 30 days on and 30 days off.

The Ginny Stone
In the Captain's chair.

It took us a long time to convince Alex to get on the boat. Once he got on he was very nervous about going down the stairs.

In the Galley.