8 Weeks – Update

Aedan:

Almost 2 months old and as adorable as ever.  I’ll post about our vacation last weekend separately, but he did great on his first weekend away.  Babies at this age are just so adaptable.  He’s great at sleeping anywhere, anytime, so it’s easy to take him along places.

He is still growing and I love his chubby legs and belly.  He will have his 2 month appointment next Monday, so we’ll know for sure how much weight he’s gained.  I believe he’s still on pace to be bigger than his brother was at this age.  He wears 3-6 month clothes as well and 0-3 month clothes.  We’re wondering how much longer he’ll be in size 1 diapers.  I love that he’s keeping more of his hair than Brody did, and it hasn’t started to lighten up yet.  Could he be keeping my hair-color?  Let’s hope!

Oh and my favorite part right now?  He’s right on track with Brody and sleeping 8-9 hours at night.  We’re on a streak of wonderful full nights of sleep.  Now, I just have to try to move up his bedtime so he goes to bed earlier and wakes up at the same time as his brother.  That would make my life so much easier!  But beggars can’t be choosers.

Brody:

Brody is a great big-brother.  He loves Aedan and constantly gives him hugs and kisses.  He can be a little rough at times, but not on purpose, and rarely.  At least we’re to the point that I can leave them alone in another room and not worry about it.

Last week, I ran upstairs to get dressed while Brody was watching TV and Aedan was sleeping in his swing.  A few minutes later I heard Aedan fussing and started to head downstairs.  Brody was on his way upstairs to get me and tell me that Aedan was crying.  Such a sweet brother.

He still strives for attention, so we’re working on some behavior problems.  We started a behavior sticker chart about 3-4 weeks ago.  He gets a sticker for good behavior.  It’s working pretty well for some items (staying in his room during bedtime/naptime) and not as well for others (going #2 on the potty).

He’s no longer at daycare during the day, so I am loving some of the fun things he says and that we’re doing together.  I am constantly trying to make sure we have enough to do so he’s not bored, but it allows us to do different things.  Right now, he’s doing a lot of Thanksgiving crafts.  As much as it makes sense for him to be home and as much as he loves us, he actually loves daycare.  After the first week, he started asking when he gets to see his “Sunday School” friends.  Unfortunately, he hasn’t been to Sunday school in awhile because of Aedan’s baptism, vacation and a trip to Madison.  And he won’t be going this week because of his cousin’s baptism.  Then, he started talking more about his daycare friends.  He thought he was going back to “school” this week (by accident), so when he woke up and I told him he was staying home, he was very sad.  Then he started telling me how he wants his school friends to come over to his house.  We’ve had a few playdates, but his school friends he’s used to seeing every day.  I think we may look into sending him a couple times before I return to work, just to see his friends again.

Me:

I’m adjusting to life at home with two boys, but I know it’s a time I may never get with them again.  With only 4 more weeks to go, it’s bittersweet.  I can’t wait to get back to my job, to feel useful, to talk to someone other than a 2 year old all day and to make decisions other than what’s for lunch each day.  However, I know after a week or two, I’ll be dying to stay home with my boys…just not every single day.

Officially dairy-free for 10 weeks now…except for those couple days I enjoyed some cheese.  It’s helping Aedan, though I suspect he may still have a sensitivity to more hidden dairy items.  I’ve been trying to eliminate all of those as well, hoping it gets better.  Next step may be eliminating soy, but we’ll talk to the pediatrician next week.  I’m happy though that Aedan has only had breastmilk for 8 weeks, much longer than Brody.  However, unless I can start pumping more milk, in 4 weeks, Aedan will have to start some formula.

Aedan is 6 Weeks

On our way to 2 months!  Aedan is more alert, has better neck control and is smiling! 

He’s eating and growing like crazy.  I don’t know how much he weighs, but he’s wearing some 3-6 month sleepers and looks pretty chunky in a lot of his 3 month clothes.  I can’t believe how big he’s getting!  He’s growing so much faster than Brody, just another one of the differences we’re going to see with these two. 

He’s an amazing sleeper.  We are so lucky, as he averages 5-8 hours each night.  After the 8 hours nights, I feel great!  It’s so nice.  Then a 5 hour night sneaks up on us…but I really can’t complain. 

We haven’t introduced any formula at this point but he’s getting about 1 bottle of pumped milk each night to get him used to the bottle.  He’s doing it pretty well with it, but still doesn’t love his pacifier.

The past two weeks, Aedan had his first Halloween, met a few of my friends he hasn’t seen yet, and spent his first few hours away from his parents.

Here’s a photo recap since his 1 month checkup:

Aedan is 1 month old

Aedan is 1 month old today! Can you say, time flies when you’re having fun? Or when you’re too sleep-deprived to know what day it is…

Aedan’s first month was actually a lot easier than Brody’s.  It helps that I knew what to expect, what to worry about and was a lot more patient with breastfeeding.  It doesn’t hurt that Aedan is sleeping better than Brody already.

He’s a great sleeper.  Once we let him sleep on his own he started off with 3-4 hour stretches.  In the last week, he’s slept 7 hours for 3 nights and 8 hours last night.  I am getting so spoiled!  Brody was a great sleeper and even he didn’t sleep for 7 hours until 6-7 weeks old.  He’s amazing.

Aedan weighs 10lbs 11.5oz and is almost 23 inches.  He always seems so much longer than they say he is, but I think it’s just the way he’s built.  His torso is very long.  He’s in the 90th percentile for height, 75th for weight and 50-75th for his head.  Definitely a big kid, which is a huge relief that we’re not constantly worrying about his size.  He’s fitting best in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  Some of them are getting tight though, so we may end up in 3-6 month clothes sooner than we did with Brody.

In the last week or so, Aedan has found his voice. He’s practicing oohing and aahing. It’s adorable. Much better than the grunting I normally hear from him. He has great facial expressions, that are practically identical to Brody’s baby faces, so that’s pretty cute. I’m enjoying him being awake more often during the day and we’re using it to do some tummy-time. It can be kind of quiet when the baby sleeps all day!

Aedan gets out of the house fairly often, since I have a hard time staying home.  On the fun side, he’s been to a few birthday parties and a pumpkin farm.  He’s also been out shopping more times than I can count.  When my very tolerant husband started asking what I was going to Target for, again, I realized I probably go a little too much.  But there’s always something you need, right?!?

3 Weeks

Aedan:

Sleeping: He’s a pretty good sleeper, but still wakes up every 3 – 3.5 hours throughout the night. Once, he slept for 5.5 hours, of which, I got 4.5 hours of sleep because I was dumb enough to stay up for an hour reading a book. I’m hoping to get another one of those soon!

Eating: This totally depends on the day, but on a good day, he eats every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night. Some days though he eats every hour. It’s Aedan’s world and I’m just living in it.

So, now that Aedan is up to his birth weight and growing so well, I thought I would introduce small amounts of dairy into my diet. I thought I would start with a piece of cheese here and there. Then I had pizza one day for lunch. First, he got fussier, but I wasn’t sure if that was due to growth spurts. Then, we noticed changes in his diaper. But that could have been due to his cold. Then I found blood in the diaper. This is exactly what tipped us off to the dairy allergy with Brody, so alas, I’m finding history repeating itself. The good thing is that we figured it out a little earlier this time. The bad thing is, I’ve been dairy free for almost 5 weeks and I hate it. Apparently we eat a lot more cheese and dairy in this house than I thought! However, the switch to formula will be even more annoying, since we’ll likely have to start with hypoallergenic. So back to dairy-free I go!

Development: Aedan is more and more attentive every day. Jason swears that he “smiles” at him / recognizes him. I don’t doubt that, I know he recognizes his voice from even before he was born, but I’m thinking he’s exaggerating the smiling part. 🙂



Exciting night in the Johnson household

We haven’t spent a ton of time on tummy-time, but his neck is pretty strong when we lay him on our chests. We’ll be working on getting him in his playmat more and more.

Brody:
 Big-Brother is still adjusting.  I don’t expect him to accept the change quickly (I know I don’t react well to change), so we’ll continue to give him more time.  But we’ve had good days and bad days.  Still working on getting more good days than bad, but the rainy weekend didn’t really help with that either.

2 Weeks

2 Weeks Old

Aedan:
The very exciting life of a 2 week old.  Aedan is eating every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-3 1/2 hours at night.  He’s a good sleeper right now, but I’m still waking him at night to eat until he’s back to his birth weight.  His 2 week appointment is on Weds and I’m just praying that he’s surpassed 9.5lbs so we can let him sleep on his own.  According to our home-scale this morning, he’s actually over 10 lbs, but since it’s not a very scientific way of weighing him, we’ll see what the pediatrician says!

After eating every hour all evening the other night, I tried letting him wake on his own.  4 hours later he was still sleep and I felt bad, so I woke him up.  Of course once he’ll be allowed to sleep as long as he wants, I’m sure he’ll start waking every 3 hours.

This week, Aedan also got his newborn photos taken.  He did an awful job, but we had a great photographer who was very patient with him.  Once we get more pictures back, I’ll blog about our experience.  Here is one that turned out pretty cute.

 



He’s becoming more attentive, but still sleeps a lot during the day.  We’ve pulled out the playmat to give him some tummy-time when he is awake.  We’ve also introduced the swing, which he seems to like.  He watches the mobile above the swing, which I don’t remember Brody paying any attention to until he was older.  It’s pretty cute.



Brody:

He loves his baby brother.  It’s clear that he realizes he’s not getting as much attention as he used to and has been acting out a little more.  The good thing is, he’s not taking it out on Aedan.  He still wants to hug him and give him kisses.  Our biggest argument about Aedan is when Brody gets mad that we won’t let him carry his brother. 

Reading a book to his brother

Newborn photo shoot

Me:

Nothing much here.  I’m feeling well, just tired.  A couple of weeks of only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time, eventually catches up with you.  However, it’s been fairly manageable and Jason is still being a huge help with Brody.  The weekends are easier to take naps because I know Jason is around to watch Aedan while I’m sleeping.  Even though he’s sleeping, sometimes I still worry about him.  At least at night I’m getting 6-8 hours of sleep, even if it isn’t consecutive sleep.



First week down

Aedan’s first week was eventful (you know – being born and everything), yet uneventful (sleep, eat, repeat) at the same time.  All in all though, it’s going great.

Aedan:
We left the hospital at 27 hours old and he’s been doing great ever since. He’s a sleeper like his brother, forcing me to wake him at night to eat instead of waking on his own. A couple times he’s woken to eat, around 3 1/2 hours after his last feeding. It’s a pretty good span of time allowing me to get 2-3 hours of straight sleep at a time.

He dropped to 9lbs by the time we left the hospital (from 9.5) and then was down to 8lbs 13.5oz by 4 days old.  I’m constantly worried about the weight loss, since Brody was a slow gainer.  But the pediatrician didn’t seem nearly as worried this time, since Aedan only lost about 7% of his weight, where as Brody lost more like 11% of his birth weight.  So, if doctor isn’t worried, I’m trying not to worry.

So far, his interests include: eating, sleeping, peeing on his parents, and pooping on the changing table.  It’s a very exciting life around here.

Brody:

Brody is very very excited to be a big brother.  He loves Aedan, which means he loves touching him, getting in his face and wants to hold him constantly.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand how fragile babies are, so we have to keep close eye on him.  We already had a baseball incident in the house and luckily Aedan was okay. 

He is definitely a little more difficult these days, looking for attention (good and bad), so we’re needing to pull out a little more patience than normal.  But it’s completely understandable since he’s used to having 100% of our attention and now has to share it.

Me:
I can honestly say, I don’t feel like I gave birth 7 days ago.  I actually feel pretty good.  Sleep-deprived, but good.  My post-birth experience with Brody was less than stellar.  I had a lot more pain and had a few days I could do nothing but feed Brody.  I feel very very lucky that things are going better this time.  I had no idea how I would handle a two-year old and a baby when I could barely take care of myself.  Thank god I don’t need to figure that out.  Jason has been super helpful in allowing me to still take it easy (I’m not up and running quite yet…), but hasn’t had to take on all of the burden.  He only got a week off of work this time instead of 2 1/2, so I’m officially on my own anyway.

I also knew that I would need to ease into the transition of two kids, so we’ve taken it slow.  My first week home, Jason was also home and Brody was in daycare during the day.  For the next 3-4 weeks Brody will continue going to daycare, allowing bonding time with Aedan and Brody to still get his energy out.  I’m hoping by 4-5 weeks old, Aedan will be a little more predictable, allowing the three of us to get out and do more during the day.  I know Brody will miss going to daycare every day, but it will save us money, while hopefully I can keep him entertained at home as well.  (Anyone with suggestions of things to do during the day with little ones – send them my way!)  Luckily we have a good Children’s museum and at least for awhile the weather nice enough to go to the zoo.  Keep your fingers crossed that Aedan starts sleeping through the night as early as Brody did!  (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself…)

40 Weeks

39 weeks 5 days

 

The weekly update I never really want to write.  But Aedan’s due date has come and gone.  Honestly, from the beginning I never expected him to come early.  Brody was 5 days late, so I didn’t think Aedan would be here sooner.  I’m glad I haven’t felt ready for the last 4 weeks like I was the first time.  It made for less “waiting” time.

 

40 weeks

 

Total weight gain/loss: Up a couple pounds this week, 29 in total.

Maternity clothes:  Sweatpants and tank-tops from here on out!

Sleep: I’ve been up with contractions almost nightly for the last week.  So sleep has been a luxury when it comes.  Of course the contractions stop and aparently aren’t actually doing anything.  So I’m just sleep unnecessarily sleep-deprived at this point.  But it’s all part of the process right?

Best moment this week: Last day at work!  My mind wasn’t working that well on 4 hours of sleep, so it’s best for everyone that I’m done. 

Food cravings: Custard…but since I’m not eating it, I’ve just substituted it with other desserts.

Labor Signs: Lots of random contractions, but nothing that means anything.

What I miss: My body.  It takes me like 5 minutes to roll over in bed, I can’t fit in tight spaces and my lap is nonexistent for my toddler to cuddle with.

What I am looking forward to: Baby snuggles

Milestones: Due-date!
Differences between 1&2: Everything.  Instead of laying around pampering myself the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, it’s been about making sure Brody feels loved and secure.  It’s actually been great because he helps keep my mind off the waiting.  And this time, instead of pampering me by doing things for me, Jason takes care of me by taking care of Brody more.  He lets me nap when Brody naps, sleep-in when I need to and do the heavy-lifting (literally) when we’re out with Brody. 

39 Weeks & Pregnancy Reflection

First, the routine stuff:

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure – will find out at Dr appt tomorrow

Maternity clothes:  Running out of options, hopefully only a week left of work to worry about it!

Sleep: Trying to get as much as I can!

Best moment this week: Finally feeling ready

Food cravings: Trying to eat what I can at this point that doesn’t have too much dairy in it.

Labor Signs: Lots of random contractions, but nothing that means anything.

What I miss: Currently, it’s milk!  And it’s only been a week!  Hoping once we see how Aedan is doing I can phase in some milk here and there without affecting him.  But we’ll see.

What I am looking forward to: Tiny baby feet, baby toes, baby hands. 

Milestones: 39 weeks down!
Differences between 1&2: No matter how many times you go through this, every pregnancy is different.  I never felt contractions with Brody until I was in labor.  Now, I feel them all the time.  I know they’re not the real-deal because they don’t stick around.  But it’s really annoying wondering all the time if it’s going to turn into anything.  I think I’d rather go back to being naive.  😛

Reflecting back on the last 39 weeks:
Last time, I did a post of all the things I’ll miss about being pregnant and the things I’ll be glad to leave behind.  So I thought I would do the same. 

What I’ll miss
1. Life with one child.  Nap-time at our house is (usually) a time to get things done, read a book, take a nap etc.  Now, I won’t have that luxury, until we can get them both on the same nap schedule at least. 

2. Ability to gain weight without concern.  Ice cream for dessert? Why not!  2 brownies instead of 1?  Sure!  Of course since I’ve been on a slower weight gain than last time, I’ve been even easier on myself these last few weeks…

3. The kicks.  I love the bond that I have with Aedan right now.  It’s just the two of us and feeling him move around is a great feeling.  Even when it hurts.

What I’m happy to leave behind
I think I’ve said before that I believe this will be my last pregnancy.  Jason thinks we’re done having kids, I am undecided, but I know either way, if there is another child, it will be one that we give a loving home to that doesn’t currently have one.  While I always reserve the right to change my mind, I don’t believe I’ll birth anymore children.  So, you’d think I’d be a little sad to end this chapter in my life…

Honestly?  Not too much. 

1. I’m excited to get my body back.  Breastfeeding will present certain challenges, and I will always continue to sacrifice if necessary (like giving up dairy), but for the most part, I will start to feel like myself again.  I can drink more caffeine, consider a glass of wine, and fit into smaller spaces. 

2. Putting on non-maternity clothes.  I can’t wait to get into my cute fall sweaters and real jeans (though I know I won’t be in jeans right away!)  There’s also a couple cute shirts I’ve bought while pregnant that I’m excited to be able to wear for the first time. 

3. Stress of work.  Though it’s only for 12 weeks, I’m hoping to disconnect as much as possible and enjoy the time with my boys.  Then, when I return, I’ll at least be able to function a little better at work (even sleep deprived, I can bulk up on caffeine & won’t have shooting sciatic pain from sitting at my desk too long!)

And…we’re back

I have a lot of catching up to do…clearly.  Summers are always busy for us, but add in exhaustion from pregnancy, potty training and baby-prep left me with zero time to blog.  But, I’m back and planning to pick it up more regularly, especially since we’ll have a sweet little baby to show off soon enough!

First update will be a pregnancy update, then I’m going to post on some of our summertime adventures as well as a Brody update.  He is of course the whole reason I started this blog!

29-37 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Only up about 26 lbs (actually lost weight in between 36-37 weeks), while I’m excited about the slower weight gain, I know I started with a little extra cushion this time, so it will still be work to get back in shape afterwards.

Maternity clothes: Thank goodness for our summer dress-code.  A perk of being at a satellite location for work is that they allowed us to wear jeans all summer. I took full advantage of the less-dressy atmosphere.  Now that Labor Day is over, I am back to dresses and dress pants. 

Sleep: No longer sleeping through the night, but even worse, I wake up and can’t fall back asleep.  This makes for several exhausting nights a week and I’m not the smartest at work anymore, but the end is almost near.

Best moment this week: Even though the second pregnancy has proven to be more difficult, the best thing about it is watching how excited Brody is about his little brother.  He loves to play in the nursery, reading about having a new baby and just yesterday practicing holding his doll with the boppy pillow.  He constantly gives Aedan hugs & kisses through my belly.  It’s the sweetest thing in the world.

Food cravings: I’ve come full-circle and am back to food aversions.  I’ve even gone as far to make myself a separate dinner because I can’t imagine eating what Jay & Brody are eating, even though they’re typical meals in our house.

Labor Signs: Nothing yet.  Random contractions, but nothing worth thinking about.  I imagine he’ll take his sweet time like his big brother.

What I miss: Regular clothes, picking up Brody without paying for it later (same goes for sitting on the floor with him).  Wine.  Oh how I miss wine…

What I am looking forward to: Brody being a big brother. And 4 weeks of maternity leave with just me and a baby. 

Milestones: Well, I’m term, which means he can come “any day now” (don’t hold your breath!).  Other awesome milestones I hit in the last 2 months: swollen ankles (even Jason noticed), stopped wearing my wedding rings (sad!!), Aedan turned head-down and seems to be staying there and I may have dropped – but the jury is still out on that one.

Differences between 1&2: Every pregnancy is different, which has been very true for me.  I believe that some symptoms are different because of the time of year (heat of summer causing some of the swelling) and some are just different.  The good news is that even though this pregnancy has come with a lot more aches and pains, Aedan appears to be just as healthy as his big brother.  And that’s all I can ask for.

Then I’ll leave you with a few pictures of my growing belly…

Almost 37weeks

35 weeks

34 weeks

25 Week Check-In

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Looks like I’m up 14 total as of my last dr appointment.
Maternity clothes: Lovin’ my new Brewers maternity shirt.  Though, they only make one, so every pregnant woman at the ballpark is always wearing the same thing.  But it will come in handy during the next bazillion games we have tickets to this summer.
Sleep: Some nights sleep is better than others. 
Best moment this week: Celebrating Jason’s birthday this weekend with friends.  I actually didn’t mind being the only one there not drinking!  Luckily the ladies are pretty good at staying sober since the boys were having a lot of fun. 
Food cravings: Due to a book I was reading this week, I’ve been craving fried chicken for a few days.  Totally random.
Gender: Boy oh boy.
Labor Signs: Nope
What I miss: Caffeine.  Not that I’ve given it up (haha!), but I definitely cut down.  Unfortunately I have a very bad habit of using it as a crutch when I lack sleep or go through stressful-times at work.  But my crutch is gone, and now I’m just tired…
What I am looking forward to: meeting my little boy.  I know I have a long time still, and I want him to bake as long as possible.  But watching Brody grow more and more every day into a hilarious little two-year-old makes me so excited to see what Aedan is going to be like.
Milestones: No major milestones, but I’m getting closer to 3rd trimester.  I can’t believe how quickly 2nd tri flew by!
Differences between 1&2:  I’m not sure if this is one of those situations where you forget a lot of details of pregnancy after a few years, but Aedan seems a lot more active than Brody was.  Brody was pretty active in utero, but Aedan moves a ton.  I feel him moving a lot during the day and first thing when I wake up, and even in the middle of the night when I wake up.  He doesn’t wake me up with his movements, but whenever I’m up in the middle of the night, it seems he is too.  That may be a bad sign though…