All about me, my hubby, my babies, and my puppy.
Wyatt saw the doctor on Friday (the 12th). He is 10 pounds 10 ounces and 22 inches long. That's a gain of 3 pounds 5 ounces and 2.5 inches since leaving the hospital. The doc said that everything else is looking good. He's right on schedule with his development. She did say he has a chubby butt, though. He got one shot which he did NOT like. Bob had to take Oliver out of the room for the shot because when he saw the tray with the needle he got really upset. Wyatt only cried a little bit because I had the delicious bottle waiting for him once the nurse was done.
I put this picture up as my profile picture. My mom couldn't believe that that's Wyatt. I guess it doesn't look much like the picture in the last post, which is what he looked like last time she saw him. Anyway, yes, that's Wyatt...he's getting so big!
I can hardly believe that Wyatt was born a month ago today. It seems like the time has gone by so quickly. We've all settled into some sort of a routine and are getting by pretty well. Wyatt has gotten so big, I can't wait to see how much he weighs (his appt is tomorrow). He's eating really well and stays awake for a long time. Luckily it's usually during the day. He's grown out of newborn diapers and newborn clothes. I was very sad when that happened! My last baby isn't going to be a baby for long.
He can follow a toy with his eyes when I move it side to side - sometimes he moves his head, too. He also swats at toys, especially if they make noise when he does. So far his favorite thing to look at is the sheet covering the futon, though. It's got white, blue and red stripes. When he's on his stomach he can lift his head up really well and lifts himself a little bit on his arms. He can hold his hands together. He's very vocal, cooing and grunting all the time. He smiled at me for the first time today. Such a cute little smile!! He likes sitting up and can control his head pretty well but it still flops around a little. He's working on it, though! He recognizes my voice and will calm down when I talk to him when he's upset...sometimes. He takes a pacifier even though I really don't want him to. It calms him down really quickly so I can figure out what's wrong.
He's a calm baby. Most of the time when he's not asleep he's just looking around at everything with his big eyes. He hardly ever really cries - he fusses a little but no wailing. He sleeps about 3 hours at a time at night - then he wakes up to eat. During the day he sleeps better if he's being held or if he's in the Boppy pillow. At night he stays in the bassinet next to the bed for most of the night. Around 4 or 5 I bring him in the bed with me because he won't go back to sleep otherwise. He still grunts in his sleep. It's cute and a little funny IF you don't have to sleep next to him. He still likes being swaddled up tight most nights. Sometimes he likes one arm free so he wears his blanket like a little toga.
The first month with little Super Why was hard - we had lots of snuggle time and such, which was good, but it was hard to get into a routine and get things done. It's hard to find a balance between the two kids. Oliver still needs to much attention but he's figuring out how to do more and more on his own which really helps me out. It was really hard with Bob going back to school. He needs lots of time to do assignments and such so I have to find things for Oliver to do quietly or outside. Wyatt is pretty low maintenance at this point just because he sleeps so much.
Wyatt and I have Mim and baby time after Oliver goes to bed. Wyatt is usually awake between 8 and around 10 so we have a few hours to be just the two of us (or 3 if bob is home and not doing schoolwork). It makes me feel a little bit better about having to step away sometimes during the day. We usually just hang out and talk or look at toys. Sometimes we walk around and bounce but that puts Why to sleep so I save it for last. He's a sweet little cuddly guy!
I found this checklist here.
Yes! - Walks by him/herself
Yes! - Stands up from middle of floor without help
Yes! - Turns page of a cardboard book
Yes! - Shows a toy, body part, and/or clothing item when asked
Yes! - May say two or more words meaningfully and also uses gestures to communicate
Yes! - Jabbers expressively and imitates words inexactly
Yes! - Likes an audience; imitates ball play and other social games (he especially likes cooking)
Yes! - Chews most foods well; may want to feed self with spoon and drink from cup, with many spills
Yes! - Walks up stairs with one hand held, and creeps backwards downstairs
Yes! - Likes to climb on, push and pull large objects or toys
Yes! - Stacks three or four objects
Yes! - May say five to ten words
Yes! - Points to one or more pictures in a book on request
Yes! - Follows a series of directions, e.g., "pick up the book and bring it to me." (when he wants to)
Yes! - Points to several body parts on self or doll (ALL of them!)
Yes! - Uses spoon and cup with little spilling
Yes! - Places edibles in mouth
Yes! - Able to run
Yes! - Begin jumping during play
Yes! - Completes simple three piece puzzle
Yes! - Sometimes uses two-word sentence, e.g., "more juice" or "bye-bye mommy." (he will actually say more juice please...so he's using some 3 word sentences!)
Yes! - Imitates simple words immediately (including one that I'd rather he not say..somehow he picked up "f*ck" and says it when he drops something!)
Yes! - Follows directions easily (again, when he wants to)
Yes! - Occasionally plays near but not usually with other children
Yes! - Likes to help a parent - imitates household chores
Yes! - Can undress completely, except for fasteners
Yes! - Temper tantrums may begin because of strong need for independence
He can also count to five and sometimes to ten. He usually forgets eight.
He can recognize letters A, B, C, D, O, W, and M. He knows at least one word for each letter (like D is for Daddy, O is for Oliver, etc)
He says please, thank you and you're welcome. So polite!
He's getting less shy around people as long as he has a few minutes to warm up.
He knows when he needs to poop and will (most of the time) let me know. For some reason he doesn't tell Bob as often as he tells me. We're still working on the peeing. If I take him he'll go but he won't tell me he has to pee.
His bedtime routine is still the same...bath, brush, jammies, 2 books then lights out. He did really well today - got right up in his bed and got ready to hear the story. His favorites are Harold and the Purple Crayon. He sleeps through the night most of the time now, maybe waking once. Sometimes he even puts himself back to sleep! He wakes up early though, usually around 6:30 or 7. I miss the old days when he'd sleep til 9! Then again, I don't get to sleep that long anymore anyway so I guess it wouldn't matter either way.
He's doing really well with colors, too. He knows green, blue, pink, white, black, red and yellow. He still says green first if you ask him what color something is but he usually gets it right on the second try.
He knows lots of shapes and is getting really good at the shape sorter and puzzles. He knows square, circle, triangle, heart, oval, rectangle, star, pentagon, hexagon, and diamond.
We had his check up today and he weighs 26 pounds 15.5 ounces. He is 34.5 inches tall. That puts him at average height and slightly below average weight. Not to worry, though. We are definately not starving the boy. He still eats a wide variety of food - although he's a lot more stubborn about when he'll eat it. Fortunately for us he prefers fruit to cake or cookies.
He got his Hep A vaccination and a hemoglobin test. He did NOT like being held down...I think he liked that less than the actual shot/finger stick. He didn't let the nurse put a band aid on either one until we held him down again. He screamed and screamed. Luckily he calmed down shortly after and was totally fine when we stopped on the way home for a smoothie (mmmm, Juice Shop!!)
Overall he's doing really well and is right on schedule for most things. He's polite and kind and such a good helper!
Oliver turned 2 on Saturday!!!!
We had such a busy weekend that I didn't get a chance to post anything about it until now. Saturday we got up and went to RTG to show Judy and Jim the sling they got me. While we were there Oliver got a little bit of happy birthday cash. He gets so excited about money - he loves putting it in his pockets. Anyway, we hung out there for a while and then we came home and got a nap before Bob got home. When Bob did get home he was holding his head funny and couldn't move it. He was in a lot of pain so I told him to go to the doctor. He said he'd been like that for his last 2 calls and that he'd just try to tough it out. I got him the heating pad and he sat down on the couch. He couldn't move for an hour, at one point he was stuck and couldn't get up! Anyway, I finally convinced him to call his boss and tell him he was going to the urgent care to get checked. When he got home he told me the doctor said he had whiplash! I'm not sure how it happened but he has exercises to do and pain pills and muscle relaxers to take now. While he was gone Oliver, Wyatt and I left for Thomasville where we were meeting up with the Englands. After getting a bit lost we finally made it to the church. Everyone ooh'd and aaah'd over Wyatt. Oliver was a big boy and climbed up the ladder and went down the slide all by himself...lots of times. He was very well behaved, especially since he didn't really know anyone. He's usually pretty shy but he just ran right out into the yard and started playing ball with Reed (also 2, blonde curly hair..he was so cute!). I got to visit with Laura and Mama E and play with Isabella in between chasing him and feeding Wyatt...although Wyatt did get passed around a good bit. After a few hours Oliver was really hot (I had him in pants and long sleeves because it had rained earlier and was chilly but it was HOT when we got there) and we were allready to get home and check on poor crippled Daddy. Off we went, I only got lost once on the way home! Bob was tired and kind of groggy from the pills when we got home so we had an early night.
Sunday morning we had some breakfast and then I cleaned cleaned cleaned to get ready for the party. I made a cake and Bob got the ice cream and such from the store. We met Joe and Elizabeth and Isabell at the Greensboro Children's Museum around 1:30 and played and played until almost 3 I think. The museum also had free Ben and Jerry's ice cream that day! (I told Oliver it was for his birthday but it was really because it was Grandparent's day) Anyway around 3 we left to go back to the house and get things ready and told J&E to meet us there in about half an hour. We got home, Bob went back to the store to get sodas and napkins and plates and stuff and I finished up the cake and ordered the pizza. Boxy and Doreen (our neighbors) came by shortly after Bob went to the store and then after he got back Bob and Dolly showed up. Oliver got warmed up really quickly and was soon the center of attention. J&E came a bit later and Oliver and Isabell played together really well. Oliver was a very good sharer, even with his new toys. Anyway, we had pizza and cake and lots of good conversation!
For presents -
From Mim and Daddy - slide, magnadoodle, walkie talkies
From Nanny and Pappy - cash!
Rachael and Dave - puzzles and T shirt
Sarah and Greg - lots of clothes
Grampa Steve - pants and outfit
From Joe and Elizabeth - aquadoodle and pajamies
From Chris - two Thomas the trains, Diego multitool
Boxy and Doreen - legos
Digits and Ani - microscope, crab chips, flashing crab necklace
He was thrilled with everything and can hardly figure out what to play with first. I'm going to post the new things Oliver can do since he was one in a while but Bob has some reading to do first.
Bob is doing better, he can move his neck and head a little more. He doesn't have to go to physical therapy or stay out of work, although he is on restricted duty. He seems to be in less pain, too.
Bob and I got married 4 years ago today! To celebrate we went out for breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. We had a very yummy meal, although the service was lacking again. Anyway, it's been a wonderful 4 years!! Happy Anniversary, Snuggly Bunny Lovey Wuvey Sweety Hubby Bubby!!
Oliver has told me 4 times in the last 2 days that he had to go potty. Every time he does it's always poo, never just pee, but boy am I glad! Today he has diarrhea pretty badly so twice he went because he told me and once I caught him when he had just started going. Good thing I caught him because that would have been a leaky mess for sure!!
Great job, Oliver!!
Oliver helped Bob do some yardwork yesterday. He got out his rake and his wagon and picked up rocks and sticks before Bob mowed the lawn. He was a very good helper! 
Here he is with the wagon and the watering can. I guess he watered my tomato and some other plants while he was out there. Bob didn't get any pictures of that as far as I can tell but he's super cute when he waters - even if he DOES spill it everywhere! 
Oliver, what do you hear?! He's looking for an airplane. They are pretty loud where we are but they're usually too little to see. He always tries, though.
A couple of people from work got together and gave me the money to order the Moby wrap I wanted! I ordered it Friday and got it today. I was so very excited!!! I tore the package open and tried it out right away. Wyatt is now sleeping peacefully while I do laundry, dishes and various other household tasks! I can't wait to try it out at a store - and show it to the people who got it for me. So far I love it love it love it!! (Wyatt is sleeping so soundly that he's not even squeaking!!)
Oliver has always had lots of nicknames. It's really hard not to call Wyatt the same names! I think it would probably upset Oliver, though, since those are HIS names. Anyway, here are the nicknames for both boys:
Oliver - Boobah, Super Spud, Buddy, Bug, Little Man
Wyatt - Super Why, Little Dude, Little Fat (I know, I know...but right now he doesn't know the difference)
**I forgot Wyatt's main nickname - Squeaker! We call him that because he is always making noise, even in his sleep!!
Oliver is really good at the shape sorter - he knows circle, square, triangle, star, heart, hexagon, pentagon, and wedge. He can usually get them in the holes with no trouble.
If you ask Oliver what a heart is for he says "luuuuuuuv"...so cute!
I weighed myself today and I'm 121...only 6 more pounds to go until I'm back to prepregnancy weight! That's with eating constantly...and eating pancakes and brownies and cookies and pizza and all kinds of not very good for me stuff. Breastfeeding really DOES get you back down quick.
I can't wait to get my sling! Once we get it I'll be able to take Wyatt and Oliver out for walks and to parks and stuff during the day. I can't really do it very easily now because Oliver isn't very good at following directions and I can't chase after him with the GIANT stroller we have for Wyatt.
Wyatt likes to stand in my lap. He stretches his legs out until they are on my legs and then he puts all his weight on them. His legs are really strong. He can do it for about 20 or 30 seconds at a time...pretty impressive for 3 weeks, I think.
I am down to 125 pounds from 140 when Wyatt was born. Actually this was my weight a week ago - I haven't weighed myself since then. only 10 more pounds to go!!
Bob is back in school and working hard. It takes up a lot of his time to do the reading and assignments but we are figuring it out.
Wyatt is still waking every 3 hours at night to eat. He takes about 3 ounces when I give him a bottle (of pumped milk - no formula!!) and does about 10 - 15 minutes on one side when I don't.
Oliver doesn't recognize "Wyatt" as a word. He picked the next closest thing he knew so he calls him "quiet"..it's so cute!
Oliver can count to ten and count ten objects. He does really well from 1 to 5 and then sometimes still needs help with 7 8 and 9. He also knows A B C and D. He knows B is for baby, D is for Daddy, M is for Mim and O is for Oliver. We are still working on the rest of the alphabet.
I haven't changed a poopy 2 year old diaper in about a week. Oliver is doing so well with pooping in the potty. He's even told me he needed to go potty a couple of times. The peeing in the potty is a little more difficult since I can't tell when he's going, but he tells me when he's got a "sogger" now so that's a step in the right direction.
Wyatt is awake for 2-3 hours 2 or 3 times a day. He's very alert during these times. He can lift his head up really well and turns it side to side with no problems. He's even started swatting at toys! Oliver likes to bring the toys over and "play" with Wyatt but I think Wyatt likes looking at Oliver more than he likes the toys.
Oliver is settling into his role as big brother a little better now. He is a good helper - bringing diapers and wipes, bottles, toys, etc. Except for the occasional tantrum (which might be partly the terrible twos starting) he's doing really well. I think it's partly because he still gets so much attention. Although he's in front of the TV more often than I'd like. I try to read with him or interact with him while I'm feeding Wyatt but it's so hard when I don't have my hands free!!
Bob is looking for a second job. It turns out that somehow my short term disability insurance didn't go through when I signed up for it (neither did Bob's - I have to call HR and find out why) so I'm not getting paid to stay at home. Stupid RTG!
Oliver's birthday is this Saturday! One week from today...I can't believe it!
Seems like there's never enough hours in the day!!
Wyatt had his two week checkup on Tuesday - he's 8 pounds 15 ounces...a gain of a pound and 10 ounces since leaving the hospital!!! The doc said he's got good head control for his age (tummy time is all the time!) and very strong legs (he likes to "stand" in my lap). His belly button fell off yesterday (Thursday). I'm working on getting the birth story up and I have tons of pictures just no time to post them.
We had some flooding down the street with all the rain and I have pictures of that, too. Hopefully I'll get some time to do it tonight. I did the dishes and laundry this afternoon and if I can get both boys in bed I'll have some free time while Bob's at school.
I've been wanting to post this for a while, before I forget, but just haven't had the chance. With visitors every day but one since he was born and TWO boys to take care of I've barely had a chance to eat and sleep, let alone blog. I hope you enjoyed the pictures in the meantime...
As I had mentioned several times we had an appointment on Sunday at 9:15 to start an induction. I was really hoping to avoid it but had resigned myself to the fact that it was probably going to happen. Anyway Bob and I got up Sunday morning and as I had been doing for the past couple weeks we went for a walk. I decided that we would do 3 laps instead of 2 just in case it'd get something started. We got home and did a few things around the house to get ready for visitors (Nanny and Pappy were coming to watch Oliver when we went to the hospital). I put Oliver down for his nap at about 1 and then I went to lay down too. I had the first contraction at 1:08 - I remember because I was about to fall asleep. The next one came shortly thereafter but I thought it was no big deal. This had been happening on and off for days and it never amounted to anything. Actually all the other times were in the middle of the night, but whatever. So I had two contractions before I fell asleep, thinking that if this was it then I'd need the rest and if it wasn't then I'd wake up with no contractions and go ahead with the scheduled induction. When I woke up about an hour later I was still having contractions. Not strong ones, but strong enough to let me know something was going on. An hour and a half later they were a bit stronger so I started timing them. I got a notebook and wrote down the time, the length and the amount of time between. From the time I started this they were all less than 10 minutes apart. The doctors all said not to call until they were a steady 5 minutes apart so I sat on my birthing ball and tried to rest and relax as much as possible. At this point it still wasn't very painful, just enough to make me stop what I was doing for the 30-45 seconds each one lasted. Bob and Dolly showed up around 8 or so and we hung out for a while. Bob put Oliver to bed and then it was almost time for my appointment at the hospital. We got the bag and headed out...
We got to the hospital and told them I had an appointment for induction but that I probably wouldn't need it because I was already in labor. She said to have a seat, there were two people before me. Nice!! We sat down to wait. They finished with the first person but then had to wait for a translator to come for the second person (not sure why she couldn't have just checked me in while she was waiting). The translator came and they finally finished with the other woman. Then the receptionist decided that chatting with the translator (yes CHATTING - we could hear pieces of their conversation) was more important than helping the poor woman who was, by this point, quite uncomfortable. Anyway, she finally called us over and had a bunch of papers for us to sign - one set of which was in Spanish. Before she could explain what the papers were or what anything was something started printing on her printer. She left us there (with full knowledge that I was in labor) to call every extension in the hospital to find out WHO printed to her printer because she can't do her work if they are printing to her printer! I read the paperwork as best I could and signed and initialed where I thought I needed to. She finally came back and looked over the paperwork. She started entering everything into the computer and then she noticed that I had initialed that I didn't want to be in the directory. Apparently this means that you don't want anyone to know you are there and if someone calls for you they have to say you aren't there. I had already initialed it and at that point I didn't care I just wanted to get into a private room so I could get this show on the road. We told her go ahead with it - which took another 10 minutes of paperwork and the giving of a "code name". Then she noticed I didn't sign the other papers (the Spanish ones) and asked me why. Probably because I DON'T UNDERSTAND SPANISH!! We got that straight, finished up the paperwork and she said to have a seat someone would be down to get us in about 10 minutes. "Dr. Dillard is the doctor on call tonight so she'll be attending to you" she said.(remember that, it's important!!) We waited 15 minutes in the waiting room before Bob got fed up and asked her to call again. About 10 minutes later they came to get us and took us to our room.
Once we were in the room a very chipper nurse came in and hooked up the IV and all the monitors. She asked me a million questions (between contractions, which were a steady 5 or less minutes apart and lasting between 45 seconds and a minute) and then she said it was time for her to get off duty. Nice! Another nurse came in, Katie, and said she'd be taking care of me for the rest of the night. She seemed very young! Anyway, she asked if there was anything she could do to make me more comfortable and I asked for a birthing ball and to not be offered any medication. She checked my dilation and said it was at 3. She was totally cool! I labored in the bed for a while but it was very uncomfortable to lay down when I was having a contraction. At some point my mom and sister came in (they came from Asheville) and hung around for a while and we chatted a bit. When things really got going they went to the waiting room and I got on the ball. Oh!!! What a better way to labor!! The bed was miserable and the ball made it seem less painful. I just rocked through the contractions, Bob supporting me from behind. What a great help Bob was, throughout the whole thing. He would hold my hand through each contraction and it was such a comfort. After a while I started feeling the urge to push a little bit. I told Katie and she had me get back on the bed to check the dilation. She said I was at 7. (an hour before she had checked and I was at 5). She said things were progressing pretty well and that she'd go ahead and call the doctor in so she could break the water and get things moving along a bit faster. I was totally ok with this. She came back and said she wasn't able to get ahold of the dr but that she'd keep trying. She left again and came back a bit later to let me know that the doctor the receptionist had said was on call was not the right one! The one on call was, of course, the only doctor in the practice that I hadn't met. Katie said she'd be there in 15 minutes and she'd break my water then. She left again, not sure why at that point, and a few minutes later (2 contractions) my water broke on it's own. Bob called the nurse and she got Katie to come back in and get the table with all the instruments on it ready. At this point I was really feeling like pushing and was starting to feel the burning sensation that comes when the baby moves way down and is READY to come out. The doctor showed up a few minutes later and checked me out - said that I was moving along nicely and to go ahead and push when I felt like it. 13 minutes after the doctor got there Wyatt was born. The last part Bob kept telling me to look at him but I couldn't. I don't know why but I was focusing on the whiteboard with the "how much pain are you in" faces on it. Once he was born they suctioned his nose and stuff and plopped him right on my tummy. Bob said I was trying to grab him but I don't remember that. I do remember looking down and seeing his head before he was all the way out. I rubbed him with the towels they wrapped him in to help get some of the goo off and told him how wonderful and beautiful and perfect he was. I think Bob was laughing at me! Anyway, after a few minutes they took him away to weigh him and do the Apgar thing and all that. The doctor repaired my tear - just a small one, smaller than the episiotomy I got last time. I told Bob to go hang with Wyatt so he wouldn't think we'd just dumped him into the cold cruel world so he went over and gave me the play by play of his check. I got very very cold! After she stitched me up the doctor got some heated blankets and covered me up then they brought Wyatt over so I could try to feed him. He did so well latching on! They let me feed him for about 15 minutes or so then they took him to the nursery to get him cleaned up the rest of the way and dressed. Bob went to the nursery with him so Katie packed up all my stuff and helped me get to our room. Katie was a super wonderful nurse!!! She told me there's no way she was ever doing that without any meds, but that I did a super job. hehehe, thanks!
When we got to the new room Mom and Rachael came back in for a few minutes to get the details then they went back to the hotel. Bob came back after a while and we got a little sleep before they brought Wyatt back in. The nurses did come in a few times in between to check my temp and blood pressure and all that. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep that night! Anyway, that's the story of Wyatt!
