Video: Isaiah and Micah

Chubby Monkey & Huey Lewis

My chubby little monkey (photos 9/29):

He's plumping up nicely, wouldn't you say?

And here's a video that gives you a small taste of the antics my eldest puts on when his favorite tunes come on. He typically boogies down quite a bit more, but he apparantly got a little too interested in the camera to perform for me. However, you do get a nice shot of the bed in the playroom!

New Family Photo

We're going to get new "official" family photos taken in November at the same time we do Isaiah's 2 year photos, but we did manage to get a photo taken of our new family of four about a week or so ago. Now keep in mind that Micah already has chubbed up a LOT since this was taken, but I just had to share it. My favorite thing is how Isaiah's mouth is wide open. Considering that is the way he looks all the time because he never stops being loud, it's perfect.

A couple of things

Just a couple of quick things to share with you all. It must be quick since I've got Isaiah sitting in my lap just DYING to pound on the keyboard and Micah is in his bouncy seat starting to get annoyed that I am not running right over to feed him!

1. The playroom is 99% completed! Evan and his parents got the drop ceiling installed this weekend and Evan finished it up on Sunday, complete with lights. He put in the trim around the doorways so all that's left is to touch up the paint around that trim. It looks so good I can hardly contain myself! The boys and I have already been down here twice today to play and Isaiah is enjoying making a massive mess. Evan says he figures there is only about a good day or two worth of work left for him to do before the basement is totally done, so we are nearing the finish line. Can't wait to show off the "after" shots of all three rooms!

2. Micah is growing like a weed! I seriously need to take some more pictures (like I need more, right?) because I cannot believe how different he looks already. The kid eats practically constantly and is packing on weight faster than I can fathom. He's going to be a chunker, I think.

3. I'm addicted to watching this video that Evan told me about. Not only is it super-cute, but Isaiah really digs watching it so he can shake his groove thang. Enjoy!

Struggling

I feel like a zombie. Not just in the "oh, I'm tired" kind of way either. I'm talking full fledged "I want to eat your brain" kind of zombie. To put it simply, I do NOT feel like myself the past couple days. I got too excited when Micah had a couple nights in a row of sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches in his crib with no problems. I got used to sleeping in my bed and actually achieving REM status. No more, my friends, no more. Two nights ago, I was up at 1:30 and stayed up. Between wanting to nurse a LOT, fussiness, diaper changes, and attempts to lay him down to sleep, Micah had me running all night long. I was hoping that it was a fluke and that last night would be much better. Instead, our all night party started at 12:30 instead. Yippee. My once calm and quiet little baby is now super-fussy at night and refuses to sleep in his crib anymore. Not sure what happened, but I'm determined to stick it out because I really don't want to end up caving and have to deal with trying to transition him to the crib when he's older. That's just a battle I don't want to have. I guess I just deal with the sleeplessness now.

In other news, we had Micah's newborn photos taken yesterday and I was completely shocked that he was wide awake, alert, and happy for the entire session. Isaiah's newborn photos were entirely of a semi-fussy asleep baby with maybe one shot of his eyes. Not Micah! It will be really neat to see how they turn out! Oh, and Isaiah had to attempt to steal the show, of course. After taking a couple photos of Micah on a pillow in the playroom, Isaiah jumped on and started hamming it up, trying to show his brother how it's done. Oh boy!

By the way, if you haven't read the book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" yet.....I highly recommend it.

Please!!

The most recent addition to Isaiah's vocabulary is the all-important "Please." We're still working on getting him to say it on a regular basis and in the correct context, but it's incredibly cute when he does say it!

You be the Judge!

Evan and I disagree on this one. Shocking, I know. At the top is a photo I took of Micah yesterday (8 days old) and below it is a photo taken of Isaiah at the age of 5 days. What do you think? Do these brothers look alike or different as newborns??

Running on Empty

I got a total of about 1.5 hours of sleep last night and that was not necessarily consecutive. I am simply exhausted today! Micah is much more quiet than his brother was as a newborn, but his days and nights are definitely still messed up and he is giving me just as much of a run for my money at night. All night long it was a constant need to nurse, change his diaper, nurse again.....and then he would get the hiccups and fuss for a while until it was time to nurse again! He just would not sleep! It didn't matter if I put him in his swing or if I held him in my arms or on my chest. He gets the hiccups terribly and they just keep going for what seems like forever and there's no way he can sleep during those. Oy.

Oh, and to make things even more fun....Isaiah has once again proved that he is no dummy. He now waits until I am nursing Micah to misbehave! Yup, that little dickens will wait until Mommy has the baby over her lap and sitting on the couch to start messing with the swing, disappearing into the kitchen (and possibly opening the garbage can), climbing on his chair, grabbing for the remotes or phone, etc. Just one more thing that is really frustrating this strung out Mom. I keep repeating the mantra that got me through the tough moments with Isaiah: "This is only temporary."

It helps, but only for a moment until I catch Isaiah digging in the dog's food bowl.

Due Date!

Here we are at my official due date: September 17th. My little Micah is already a week old!!! Seriously, where does time go? We have absolutely no routine going at my house right now. It's all just fly by the seat of my pants right now. Micah is starting to want to nurse more often now that my supply has come in and that really is putting a strain on my relationship with Isaiah. He gets really frustrated when he is trying to get my attention for something and I am glued to the couch with the baby. He is acting out because of this, getting into things he knows he shouldn't, just to see if it will get me to give up what I'm doing and pay attention to him. The overnight hours aren't as tough as I thought they would be, but they certainly aren't easy. I nurse Micah around 9:00 or so and then I go sleep in bed until he wakes up for another feeding, typically between 11:30 and midnight. Then I go back "on duty" and Evan goes to bed for the night. Last night I was able to get Micah back to sleep (on my chest though....) around 1:30, but the night before was a bit more difficult - he was up from 12:00 to 3:00 am! So far, the best luck I have with getting him to sleep during the night hours is on my chest while I lay on the couch. Certainly not uncomfortable by any means, but I do miss my bed! Hopefully soon we can start getting him more used to sleeping in the Pack n Play or the crib so I can go back to sleeping in bed. But, for now, we're still in survival mode! I spend most of the day in my jammies and just take things one feeding at a time! All part of the transition I suppose. We'll get back to a more normal, scheduled existance eventually!

On My Own

Today is my first day home by myself with both boys. Evan and my mom have both been home with me since we got back from the hospital on Saturday and the extra help has been amazing. It's almost 10:00 am and so far so good! Micah is asleep in the swing and Isaiah just asked to go Ni Night. He's been gradually ditching his morning nap over the last couple weeks, but he woke up early today with a nasty head cold and has been acting tired all morning. I expect he'll probably just chill out in bed or have some quiet time in his room rather than an actual nap, but for a few minutes I can hop on the computer! :)

The overnight hours are all about survival right now for me. I have no idea about what to do to get Micah on an actual schedule, so I'm just flying by the seat of my pants. I set up camp in the living room each night and Micah sleeps either in his swing or in my arms. So far the basinette in the P&P has been no good at night for him. I do remember that we had Isaiah moved over to his crib by about 4 weeks old, so hopefully we will eventually repeat that success. Micah is a really good baby though. I can't get over how QUIET he is!! Isaiah was loud from Day One, but Micah is so quiet. He's only gotten a good cry going maybe twice so far and even that wasn't very loud and was very short lived. Maybe he's just getting ready to really surprise me.

Time to go check on the Toddler Terror! Wish me luck!

Family of Four

We came home from the hospital this morning and have settled back into our familiar surroundings, only now as a family of four. Isaiah, my darling boy whom I have missed dreadfully, has been an absolute pill from the moment we got home, but I guess I didn't expect anything else. It will be as difficult of a transition for him as it will be for us, I am sure. Micah is doing really well! He has been sleeping a TON today and it has been very difficult for me to wake him up, even to nurse. That does not bode well for the overnight hours, but that's the nature of the beast I suppose. We did get great news this morning that his renal ultrasound came back clear and normal, so his dilated kidney issue must have cleared up before birth. Thank you, Lord!! Just wanted to share a couple quick photos with you and then I'm going to go back upstairs and return to resting. For some reason, I am really exhausted!! :)

Micah John has arrived!

It's all over, folks! We are proud to announce the arrival of our baby boy, Micah John. He was born on September 10th at 11:54 pm (just made it!!) and was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. He is just perfect!

I had been having contractions most of the day since my appointment this morning (see previous post), but things got serious around 7:30. They started coming HARD and quickly progressed to 5 minutes apart. At 8:30, I called labor & delivery (again) and said we were coming in. When they checked me, I was already 5 cm dilated and contractions were intensifying in both pain and frequency, so there was no way we were leaving. I asked that the epidural man be paged ASAP and I did get my wish after about an hour or so of hard contractions. At 11:00, I was very close to fully dilated and we were starting to think that our goal of a birth by midnight might just be attainable! I started pushing at 11:15 and less than 45 minutes later our baby boy made his appearance, with 6 minutes to spare! He's doing great and I am doing pretty well too. I gotta tell ya, a 4.5 hour TOTAL labor sure beats the 12 hours (complete with 3 hours of solid pushing) I endured with Isaiah. Yay for second babies!!

More photos to come! I'm sure we'll take lots more tomorrow when he starts getting passed around to people and I'm not so crazy-tired. Tomorrow he will also have the ultrasound to check out his kidney issue. Stay tuned for more updates on Micah!

It's Showtime!

I finally have something interesting to report! I started having contractions last night around 6:00 pm. Nothing major and only about every 10 minutes, but they were certainly there and were paired with some pretty gnarly nausea. I went to bed at 9:30, but woke up at 11:30 because the contractions were hurting pretty badly. By this point, they were coming every five minutes, so I figured something might be up. I hopped in the shower at midnight and figured if it kept up until 1:00 am, I would call the hospital. Woudn't you know it.....stupid contractions eased up by 12:45 and were gone completely by 1:30. I laid awake until 2:00 feeling like I had just been cheated.

Fast forward to this morning. Complete with goofy looking hair because I had showered at midnight, I was having zero contractions so I was hardly optimistic when I went to see the doc at 10:45. Blood pressure was good, protein levels good, baby's heartbeat sounded good. We decided to give checking my cervix another try and this time, she was able to reach it. As it turns out, I am already 4 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and the head has dropped down to +1 (meaning 1 cm PAST the pelvic bone). Dr. B looks at me and says, "Are you SURE you're not contracting????" Basically, the baby is so ready to be born that she is afraid that if I were to go into labor at home that our 30 minute drive to the hospital would be to far and I'd end up having a baby on the side of Hwy 78. So, here is the plan. I am waiting for a call right now from my doctor to see if Labor & Delivery can admit me today to get my water broken and get this show on the road. If they say no today, it's looking like tomorrow....unless I go into labor on my own, which is looking like a possibility since I have been having contractions off & on ever since she messed with my cervix.

Long story short: IT'S BABY TIME SOON!!!

UPDATE (6:20 pm) - L & D was not able to get me in tonight due to an induction in progress, but I am scheduled to go to the hospital at 7:30 tomorrow morning to get my water broken....unless I head into full blown labor on my own, that is. I've been having contractions since this afternoon, but they have been very irregular and not very intense, so I spoke to L & D and have decided to stay at home unless they become more regular and stronger. Or if my water breaks, obviously. In that case, we'll probably be going 80 up the highway to get to the hospital! Sounds like one way or the other, tomorrow is the day!

At least I got some exercise!

I walked the stupid mall for just about two hours today to try to get labor started! Actually, my intentions were two-fold: First, get Isaiah to fall asleep for his first nap of the day. Second, get contractions going. My first objective took an entire hour of pushing the stroller to accomplish. Little buggar just refused to pass out! It didn't take long for contractions to start once I started power-walking and they did continue the whole time I walked. I finally quit after about an hour and forty minutes because I had slowed to a snail's pace and my feet and back were really hurting. Mission accomplished though, right? Contractions were definitely going!! Yahoo!!

....Until five minutes later when I sat down in my car. Stopped pretty much immediately. The whole drive home I just sulked. All I got out of that stupid idea was swollen ankles and a back-ache.

Getting ready to head off to bed now. I go back to the doctor again tomorrow at 10:45, but I hardly expect anything earth-shattering to happen. I will be sure to report in if that changes.

Doctor's Report

WARNING!!! This post is going to be very boring!! My report from my checkup today is incredibly dull - there's nothing going on. I did another NST and the baby was happy as a clam in there. My blood pressure was back down to a good level and my protein levels were down as well. No crazy swelling or weight gain. Dr. B tried to check my cervix and strip my membranes, but I have a very posterior cervix and she has short fingers, so after just causing me some extreme discomfort for a few moments we gave up on that course of action. So, here I sit. Still very pregnant with 9 days to go until the official due date. I go back in again on Thursday and unless something changes, I will be back in the clinic again next Monday and Thursday before we start talking induction. Let's just hope I go into labor on my own before then!

The Playroom is Ready!!

Apart from a few things, the playroom in the basement is open and ready for business! We still need to install the door to the closet, all the trim around doorways, and put in the drop ceiling and lighting. Otherwise, I am happy to report that it has reached the point where I can bring Isaiah down to play and create havoc! Without further ado, here are some photos of the playroom right now:

View from the corner by the storage room. Still need to install door to closet on far wall.

Straight on shot of "fun wall," complete with finished chalkboard wall! What's with the paper in the upper right corner? That's where I've painted the baby's name! You wouldn't want me spoiling the surprise, would you??

View from the doorway of the closet. The square green mirror that's sitting on the shelves needs to get hung on the wall yet, but you get the idea. Note to self: need a garbage can!!

So, there you have it! I'd love to show you photos of the family room and office, but they are both still in advanced states of chaos. Evan is finished installing trim in the office, but there is still quite a bit of touch up painting that needs to be done. Crown moulding still needs to go in the family room, followed by more touch up painting. It's certainly come a long way though and I still feel like it isn't really my house as I go down the (carpeted!!) steps. The hard work is truly paying off.

Just for fun, here's your random Isaiah Photo of the Day:

38-2

38 weeks, 2 days pregnant today. That's exactly how far along I was two years ago when I was induced and Isaiah was born at 8:25 that evening. I can't help but wonder how far I would have gone if I hadn't been induced, especially since now I find myself in the waiting game with his little brother. I have made it past Friday (and made my husband happy) and now I'm just hoping to stay pregnant until Tuesday because my doctor is out of town for the holiday. I am also selfishly holding on to hope that I don't go PAST my due date, because that is just far too long to stay pregnant. Gotta love the waiting game!

Up and Running

This whole basement thing might just work out after all! The carpet was installed this morning and despite the fact that my son was not able to take a nap and ended up doing this instead....

...it was still a very successful day! The carpet looks amazing. I can't even begin to describe how much of a difference it made from transforming the space we've been working in from a "basement" to a family room, a playroom, an office. Add that together with moving in my desk & computer (and getting the Internet hooked up!), the couch and furniture into the family room, and getting 2 of the 3 doors installed, and the rooms are actually starting to take shape. It's kind of weird to be sitting in my new basement office writing this post right now, but I'm so excited that I will actually have a room to bring our new baby home to that is truly his. Now all I have to do is get that room set up along with everything else that needs to be finished up down here!! I know you're probably itching to see photos, but I'm just not ready yet. I want to at least get some of the furniture arranged in the way it will belong before I snap some more photos. Plus, Evan has been keen to remind me not to put too much up against the walls because he still needs to install baseboards and the crown moulding. It's wonderful though. I am so blessed....and very tired! :)

Playroom Toys & Baby Update

Nope, I am not in labor and nor shall I be any time soon, at least via induction that is. I had another NST today and my results were MUCH better, so I have the green light to remain preggo a while longer yet. I'm just hoping I don't go into labor on my own over the weekend because my doctor is gone Saturday through Monday!!

We're getting really excited to see the rooms in the basement nearing the point where they will actually be usable! They may not be 100% finished for a while, but after carpet and doors are installed they will actually be usable, so that got me thinking about some things for the playroom. I brought Isaiah down there yesterday while the electrician was tinkering around and he must have spend 10 minutes just climbing up and down the stepstool. That got me thinking that it would be great to have something for him to climb on in the playroom. I found a couple things on Craigslist that fit the bill. I love the castle with the swing because both Isaiah and the baby (when he is much bigger, of course) could play on it at once, but it was all the way in Portage (and $55) and the big climber was wayout of my price range. Both are made by Little Tikes. Anyone have any suggestions?? I'd say it is highly unlikely that I'll be hauling my very pregnant butt to any garage sales any time soon. I can keep watching Craigslist, but even if I found something that would work I don't have a vehicle large enough to go pick it up. I suppose I could always wait to put something on Isaiah's birthday list too.

On the basement schedule tonight: Nail in boards along the stairwell, clean up to get ready for carpet install, final touch-ups on polka dots. Carpet is coming at 7:30 am tomorrow!! I am so excited.

Should I stay or should I go?

Anyone else singing the song in their head right now? "Should I stay or should I go now?? If I stay there will be troub-le.....if I go there will be doubl-le..."

Ok, I'm done. Here's the pregnancy update: Baby Boy cannot decide if he wants to come out or stay in. When I checked in on Monday, my blood pressure had come down some and the protein in my urine was down to trace amounts. Doc said I was good to stay pregnant and to come back on Wednesday. So, here we are on Wednesday. I got a headache this morning that got worse over the course of a couple hours. By the time I got to the clinic, it was hurting pretty good. My blood pressure went back up and the protein in my urine jumped up to 2+. The NST machine was wheeled back in and I got to sit there while we monitored the baby's heartrate. The way my doctor put it was that the tracing "didn't look bad, but it didn't look good either." She threw out the word "induction" today and it was clear it was definitely becoming a consideration. Her concern was that the NST didn't show that I was contracting as of yet, so we would be starting from square one. I had to go get blood drawn to see if any of those numbers were out of whack, as that might tip the scale toward induction. For now, I have to go back in again tomorrow to do another NST and check the pee and blood pressure again.

Poor Evan. All he could say when I told him about all this is, "Honey....could you please try to make him wait until after Friday??" I love that guy, but right now his mind is 100% on basement, not baby!!

Video: Applesauce!

Sorry it took so long to get this video up. Even though it's from the end of July, it's still pretty cute!

Just one more reason....

As if I didn't need another reason to really not like Brett Favre right now, I can add this to the list. I watched a good chunk of the preseason game the other night where the old man took the helm of the Vikings against the Texans. I've watched Favre for many years and I'm telling you, he did NOT look great. But this takes the cake. A veteran like Favre should know better than to make such a dirty play, especially in a preseason game. I don't know what happened to this man, but he is certainly not the same Brett I used to know. Watch the video of Favre's dirty block below and read all about it HERE.

A True Fan

I know I mentioned in passing to Isaiah that the first Badger game of the season was coming up this weekend, but I guess he got more excited about it than I realized. Here's what I found when I checked on him during his nap this morning:
He would have had to get out of bed, go get his Badger hat from off his dresser, put it on and climb back into bed. Only a true fan sleeps in their Badger gear!! Go Bucky!!