Playin in the Water

Besides the birth of lil baby Vin, our summer has been quite uneventful.  One activity we have been able to enjoy outside is playing in the water--whether it be in the sprinkler, water table, or pool.

A very hot Saturday afternoon before Vin was born, Vera  spent several hours playing in the water table.  Here she is watering the royal path.

The month of July has been quite consumed with caring for newborn Vince.  Vera's friend Tucker brought her a gift when Vin was born--a new sprinkler!  So, on another Saturday afternoon, Vera and dad went out to play.

Vera the Mermaid

Vin watched (or slept?) from the front door.

On Karen's birthday, Karen, Grandma, Mandy & Blake made plans to pick up Vera and go to the pool.  They talked me (and Vin) in to going for an hour to get out of the house.  So, we went to get some fresh air, and went home after an hour.  Vera stayed with the others and had lots of fun.  She learned to dive for sticks with Blake!

Vin rested in his stroller in the shade.

Vera had lots of fun!

And last Tuesday when it was really hot, we filled up the pool in the back yard and swam while Adam was at golf.  It's tons of fun for Vera, a chance for her to get outside to wear her down, and nice for me because I don't have to do much to entertain her.  :)  Hopefully we can get outside on more of our hot days to play in the water!

3 Weeks of Vince in Pictures

In 3 weeks time, we've learned that...

...sometimes he has to cry himself to sleep.

...he LOVES his pacifier!

...he eats 3-4 ounces every 3 hours religiously; therefore,

...he is a PIG!

...pumping during the day and nursing through the night is working really well.

...he's growing!  At 19 days old at his well check he weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz.  In another week, newborn clothes and diapers will probably be too small already!!

...he sleeps as much as 6 hours at night in his car seat.  

...he doesn't like to lay flat on the floor or in his bed.

...a swaddle helps him sleep at night.  He looks like a little mummy all wrapped up!

...it is sometimes a struggle for him to sit and be content when he's awake.

...he likes his swing and bouncy seat.  

...just like his big sister, he rubs his head and hair when laying flat.

...he doesn't really like to take a bath.  

...his cord, circumcision and mouth sores have healed nicely.

...we just love him to pieces!

We are working on sleeping in his bed.  So far, the most we can get is 2 hour stretches.

The paci is his friend, and if he doesn't have it...

...he'll suck on his fingers!

It's such hard work to be a baby.  Love this picture!

When he has his little belly full, he'll lay his head on my shoulder.  Sweet boy!

1st tub bath at 3 weeks old.

Big Sister Vera

While we were at the hospital, Vera stayed with my parents.  Karen happened to be home for the weekend too.  Vera Lou stayed plenty busy playing, going to the farm and especially going to Country Fest.  Karen took her on lots of rides, and they also enjoyed playing games and winning prizes.  The picture below Karen sent as they were leaving Country Fest.  Vera was asleep before they drove out of the parking area.  Below that are all of the prizes she won by playing games.  The magnifying glasses were probably the best prizes of all.  We missed Vera a lot while we were in the hospital, and I think she missed us too.  We FaceTimed with her several times.  My mom said it was good for Vera to stay busy so she didn't miss us too much.  On the day of our discharge, Vera went to Mike & Rosie's and spent the day at the pool with Mindy, Bailey and Grammy. She had a blast with them!

Vera filled nearly every page of the notebook with "dragon" stamps.  Later in the day, we caught Vera showing Vin her stamps and notebook.  So cute!  "Vin yook at my dragons.  Do you yike them?"

Vera's face...lol !!

Having a baby around home has been a huge adjustment for everyone.  Vera has done so well!  Here are a few things I don't want to forget about this time in our lives...

Vera always refers to Vin as "the baby."  The first thing she asks when coming home or waking up is, "Where's the baby?"  She'll ask if certain things are "for the baby."  We've had to tell her that it's ok to call him by his name or to refer to him as her brother.  My parents said said that for the first day, she had trouble remembering his name.  By the time we came home from the hospital, she had it down.

Vera received a few nice gifts from visitors and family too.  Aunt Mandy brought Vera this Doc McStuffins book that has a CD to read the story to her.  It's been a great gift--definitely something Vera can do all by herself.  The first day, she read it 3 times in a row.

Vince has done a lot of crying since we've been home.  Sometimes we tell Vera to sing him a song to calm him.  At first she sang the Baby Bumblebee song.  But one day I heard her singing this:
"What's going on?
Tell me what's wrong.
I know there's something we can do.
It might not be clear,
but that's why I'm here.
Tell me what's bothering you.
Got somethin on your mind?
Don't you keep it inside.
You're gonna be fine..."
It is just the sweetest little song, but I had no idea where she'd heard it.  Later, when I asked her, she said that Doc McStuffins sings the song to her patients.  Aww!  I guess all of Vera's TV-watching has come in handy here.

Vera is rocking her brother's car seat.  She'd been home with him for only a few short minutes in this picture.

Her shirt says "Best Sis Ever" even though it's hard to see.  She's been a super big help and loves him lots.

I've had to answer a lot of questions within the last few weeks.  Vera is going through the "Why?" stage right now.  She asks "why?" to nearly everything we do and say.  It's been even more escalated because there's a new baby around.  I've had to explain nursing and pumping.  I decided I wasn't going to lie to her about it.  She was pretty content with my explanation, but she always double checks to make sure it doesn't hurt me.  We've also had to explain umbilical cords, bathing a newborn, and why they sleep and cry so much.

She's given lots of hugs and kisses and even shared her Mickey couch!

One of our first days at home Vin was crying hard.  She went up to him and said, "Vin Vin Vin!"  That eventually evolved to "Vinny Vin Vin," which is what she calls him a lot.  Could be the start to a nickname for him?

 One of our first days home, I was sleeping on the couch through the night, Vin was in his swing, and Vera got up around 7:30 that morning.  I was still super tired, and had her lie down on the couch with me.  I turned on cartoons and we snuggled together for an hour or so.  It was nice to give her that one-on-one attention, even if I did doze off a few times.  I think Vera really appreciated the time too.

 In our first week at home, Vera also read a few books to Vin.  "The Going to Bed Book" has been her go-to book, mostly because she has it memorized.

Vera really is a big help.  She's so good about getting things for us when we're stuck in the chair.  She tries hard to wait her turn, though I can only expect that to go so far.  In the first days at home, as I tucked her in for bed, I asked her what she thought of Vin.  She told me one day that she thinks he's beautiful.  I asked her one day if it was ok that we keep him, and she said yes.  But, she's given me a few heartbreaking comments too.  Last week as I was feeding Vince, she was trying so hard to get in the chair with me.  I told her she couldn't right then, and she stood with tears running down her cheek and said she just wanted to sit with me too.  Tears ran down my cheeks too.  Such a hard thing for a mom.  Yesterday Vin was especially fussy and she said, "Mom, I've had enough of Vin!"  When I asked her why, she responded, "Because all he does is cry."  :(

After a long 4th of July weekend, Vera fell asleep on my shoulder while watching TV.

Overall, things are going quite well.  We have easy days and hard days.  The mornings are the hardest part of the day because everyone needs something.  But we're working through it.  I'm so thankful for all of the help we've had, especially with Vera.  One of the greatest blessings, besides our sweet children, is that I feel really great.  I can move around easily, have no pain, and feel capable of caring for my kids.  It makes it so much easier to be a mom to two special children!

The First Week at Home

When we had Vera, I remember someone telling me that the first weeks at home are "survival" weeks.  I truly believe that you have to do whatever works in the first weeks at home.  It couldn't have been more true for us.  I was nursing as much as I could, but tried not to stress too much about supplimenting with a bottle.  The four of us slept wherever we fell.  Vera spent a few nights in our bed while one of us slept on the couch.  Bad habits can be addressed in the weeks to come.  For now, we'll do what works.

I told Adam on the way home from the hospital that every doctor, nurse, and lactation consultant will tell you something different about nursing, bottles and pacifiers.  We both agreed that you have to do what you feel is best, along with some common sense.  Up until this point, we were feeding Vin some formula to fill his belly.  We also started to use a pacifier because he always needed something in his mouth...either his fingers, a paci, bottle, or nursing.  It was working, and we were in survival mode.

Our first night at home was long.  Vince really didn't sleep much at all.  Adam and I took shifts so we could each get just a little rest.  At 3:30am, I woke up to a storm outside.  It was really windy with lots of lightening.  Our power went out for about 10 minutes.  How ironic!  Our first night at home with Vera also included a power outage for a few hours.

July 1 was our first full day at home.  We did absolutely nothing except take care of 2 kids and rest.  It was really hot outside, and I think we stayed in all day. We ordered lunch from Creekside--again, survival mode.  Vince ate almost every hour that day, mostly comfort nursing.  He was always hungry and not content for long.  I was really torn -- nursing a baby every hour is exhausting, but the other side of me knew that it's what he needed.  His circumcision and mouth were both very sore.  I knew that nursing was a comfort that made him feel safe.  I also knew that good nutrition would help him heal faster.  I cried about this a few times. It was a helpless and heartbreaking feeling to see his ouchies.  Plus, all of the emotions and changes of a postpartum mom don't help matters.  Through our struggles with a fussy and hungry baby, Adam and I kept encouraging each other by saying "It will get better."  I bet we said that a half dozen times each day for the first week.

Poor Vera didn't even get her hair combed on our first day at home.  Look at this rat's nest!

Vera took some pictures of us as we rested on the couch.

In the afternoon, we gave Vince his first bath at home.  Vera was so excited to help.  Right away, she ran to the bathroom to get some of her tub toys for Vince to play with while he took a bath.  :)  We had to explain to her how a newborn takes a bath.  Vera stood on her stool and watched closely.  Her job was to help wash and comb his hair.  Vince screamed through the entire bath.

Clean baby!

That evening after a visit from Brian, Crystal, Noah, Dylan, Mike & Rosie, I remember Vince cried for almost 2 hours.  We were learning what worked, and nothing seemed to comfort him.  I flew most of that night solo because Adam went back to work the next day.  I remember baby Vin cried non-stop from 3a to 4:30a.  As a last resort, I went digging through baby clothes and found my swaddle from Vera.  I wrapped him up really tight and gave him a bottle.  He calmed down and slept for a few hours after that.  Survival.

On Wednesday at 7am, as Vin and I were waking up, my mom was knocking at the door.  She was so much help that day!  I cried when she left.  She did laundry, made dinner, ran errands, took care of kids, and did whatever had to be done.

Beautiful flowers from Fred & Patty and Midmark.

I took Vince to his newborn well-check that morning.  Vera cried when I left, which was hard.  Earlier in the morning, Vera was acting out by jumping on furniture.  She knows she isn't allowed to do this.  When my mom and I corrected her, she said, "Mom, I just want to make you laugh!"  OMG--I almost started crying right there.  She was starving for my attention.  Adam and I agreed to try really hard to include her in Vince's care.  Not an easy task.  It makes me tear up every time I think about her saying those words to me.

4 days old

Vin's well-check went very well.  He gained a slight amount of weight, his circumcision looked good, and he was given a clean bill of health.  The poor guy received his first Hepatitis shot.  Another ouchie for our tiny, tough little guy.

6 days old

Later in the week was July 4 holiday, so Adam was home for a long weekend.  I was so relieved to have his help through the day, but also at night.  On the 4th, we went to Diane and Brian's house for a cook out.  It was beautiful weather and a chance to get out for an hour or two.  Vera had so much fun playing with the other kids, and she cried when we had to go home.  Vince cried for several hours while we were at the party.  Adam and I passed him back and forth and tried everything.  Finally, we resorted to putting him in his car seat and going outside while he cried.  Within a few short minutes, he gave up and slept for several hours.  This was the beginning of learning that he prefers to be left alone as he's trying to fall asleep.  Rocking and holding him seem to make things worse.

Vince was still very fussy.  He was hungry all the time, and I was miserably sore from constantly nursing an aggressive eater.  He constantly was looking for something to eat.  He'd suck on his sleeve, fingers, our shirts, and even the side of his car seat.  Finally, on the evening of July 4, I decided to start pumping and feeding bottles to give myself a chance to heal.  Survival.  It was such a good move!  Vince started being more content for a little longer, and I could start to notice consistencies in his habits and schedule.

Big sister Vera!  She's doing so well.  You can see the white scab in his mouth in this picture.  Poor guy!!

For the first week at home, the little guy slept mostly in his swing at night and I on the couch.  Toward the weekend, I moved him to his car seat to sleep.  On Saturday evening, we put him in his bedroom in his car seat.  It was so nice for everyone (minus baby) to sleep in their own beds!  Vin slept in about 3-4 hour stretches in his car seat.  I don't want to make a habit of car seat sleeping, but it's working for now.

Each day is getting a little easier.  This photo was on Facebook recently, and it was just the reminder I needed.