More Jack

I don't have time to write a clever post about how much our life has changed in a few short days, so I'll just dump a bunch of photos here and hope that that will tide you over for a little bit!

Kristine and Eli came to visit us in the hospital.

Eli worked on a new skill - drinking from a straw!

Finally - we're home! Star is maybe not so excited about another one of THOSE.

Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Sarah came over to snuggle with the little guy (and to bring presents, of course!)

Ryan was excited to make Jack's bouncy chair "buzz", though eventually we had to take the batteries out when Jack voiced his disproval!

Jack is nursing well, although he much prefers sleeping to eating and has lost a pound since birth. I pumped a little bottle of colostrum for Sam to feed to him to try to get more food in his tummy - look how long his fingers are!

First Look

Aloha, Jack William! We are so excited to welcome you to our ohana.

Ryan stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while his brother made his way into the world. When they brought him to visit, he was much more interested in the "Happy Birthday Baby" cupcake, juice and crayons the hospital provides for older siblings than he was in meeting the baby.

Three and 9/10 Flemings

The cats have been following my example of letting it all hang out, beached whale-style:

Peter

Star

And here is [hopefully] the last maternity photo I'll ever pose for:

For comparison's sake, here's a week before Ryan's delivery, November 2008:

Welcome to the Future!

My mom lives in a rural part of Missouri that only recently got high-speed Internet service, so she can finally view the videos I post here. Unfortunately, we haven't done anything really video-worthy lately (actually, I never seem to have the camera handy when Ryan does something adorable), so here's 3 minutes of Ryan eating breakfast today, all the while discussing the merits of composting, peaches and cafe au lait.

We are trying to wait patiently for Jack's arrival, but it is hard. I have thrown much of my energy this week into cooking and assembling enough meals to tide us over for a few weeks - thank goodness for the full size freezer in our basement. I put together some family favorites, like bourbon glazed salmon, teriyaki and ginger pork tenderloin, and turkey meatballs, plus I got a book from the library called Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month. It actually took me four days to make 40 meals (and on each of those days I was too tired to cook dinner!), but the freezer is now STOCKED.

This morning I discovered Sam in the basement, sorting through piles of ski and camping gear, hauling cardboard boxes out to the recycling pile, and generally... NESTING. For my part, I've installed Jack's car seat, packed my hospital bag, and sorted through the 2T fall/winter clothes we've received as hand-me-downs for Ryan. The last time we nested simultaneously we rented a Rug Doctor to shampoo all the carpet in the house and bought a new car - Ryan was born five days later. So let's hear it for nesting!

Any Day Now...

I am 37 weeks, 2 days pregnant according to the midwife's little round calendar thingy. Whether that is entirely accurate is unknown, so the phrase "any day now!" really truly means that this kiddo could chose to arrive tomorrow, or Sunday afternoon, or Thursday at midnight, etc. Ryan was eight days early, but at 8 lbs 13 oz I'm pretty sure he was fully cooked and there was no early about it.

Here's the bump (not sure why the wall looks so lime green; I assure you it is not). No, I haven't been sleeping well lately, thanks for noticing. At this time in my pregnancy with Ryan I was sleeping in the guest bedroom in order to have space for all my pillows and the tossing and turning, but that is now Ryan's room, so Sam is stuck with me.


Speaking of Ryan's room, I finally got some of his pictures and other decorative elements hung up. He is still adjusting to his big boy bed and takes a LONG time to settle in - he has never actually fallen asleep IN the bed:

Once I scoop him up and put him into bed, he usually sleeps through the night (unless he kicks off his blankets and gets cold) - but his naps have decreased from 3 hours to 1 hr 45 minutes, which is less than I need him to need.


The nursery is finished and all ready for Jack William to move into (even though he'll start out in a bassinet in our room) - I tried to do a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme, but it turns out that is actually harder to find thematic design elements than Surfer Boy. Who knew? Our friend Jillian found and helped me paint this adorable mural:

I located this immaculate Ikea Poang chair on Craigslist for $20, but I had to drive all the way to Aurora to pick it up (in rush hour, no less) - but it was worth the effort.

We've moved all Ryan's baby clothes (plus an additional 0-9 months wardrobe that Raymond and Kristine passed on to us from Eli) out of storage and back into the dresser - do you think we have enough socks? Ironically, I dress my babies in lightweight zip-up footie sleepers so I don't have to deal with socks AT ALL... sorta wish I could get away with it for the toddler years, too!

Because we have most everything we need for the baby (my excuse in buying anything for Ryan was, "well, the next kid will use it too!"), I have had time to agonize excessively over what I do still need to get, including a diaper bag big enough to haul supplies for two. I didn't feel like spending $70 or more on an actual diaper bag, so I decided to repurpose this messenger bag I got for free when I worked at REI. It doesn't look like a diaper bag, but it has plenty of space for everything. I bought two vinyl zippered pouches ($2 each at Big Lots!) to separate the boys' diapers and clothes - although as Sam pointed out, it's pretty hard to confuse a size 5 diaper with a newborn one... but I'm a sucker for organization.

To further distinguish the two (I couldn't get different colored pouches), I bought iron on letters and felt, and crafted these nifty little zipper pulls. That way, if all four of us are out and about and Sam takes Jack to the bathroom for a diaper change, I can just hand him the J bag and he'll have everything he needs - well, that's the theory, anyway! Total cost for the whole affair: about $8, including a second plastic wipes case.

Okay, Baby Jack, I've run out of projects. You're welcome to arrive ANY DAY NOW - and did I mention I'm REALLY tired of being pregnant?