Two Month Stats

We had CJ's two month checkup today, and I have one healthy and (usually) happy little boy! He weighs 12 lbs, 3 oz. (55th percentile) and is 22 inches long (20th percentile)...teeny tiny! Well, teeny tiny compared to his sister: at her two month checkup, Ava weighed in at 13 lbs, 11.5 oz and was 24.25 inches long--both 97th percentile! WOW! Anyhow, CJ got three vaccinations today (one oral, two shots) and the doctor said this could cause him to be a little fussier than usual. "A little fussier" apparently means "screaming bloody murder for most of the day." Poor baby! Not only was he obviously in pain from the shots, but the doctor confirmed what I suspected, he does seem to be teething. Too young for Tylenol or Motrin (and he can't have Orajel either) so he just has to tough it out. I spent the majority of the late afternoon/evening wearing him in the Moby, he in his diaper and me in just a bra (skin contact is supposed to be soothing, it seemed to help) and that calmed him somewhat but he still had crying/screaming fits. I did get him down to sleep at the normal time, so now I'm going to soak in the tub and have a small glass of wine....my nerves are shot and my body aches from cooking and cleaning while wearing a baby, even if he is only of moderate size. ;o)

Not much exciting going on here, but if you check back in the next few days I'm going to have some snarky commentary (with pictures!) regarding Barbie dolls I saw at Target today. All I'm going to say is that they made me want to weep for the future of humanity....

Ava and CJ at Two Months

So, I was snuggling CJ to sleep this afternoon (I know, it's not a good habit, but he's super-fussy due to the teeth and I think he's too young to take anything for the pain, so I'm spoiling him) and looking down at him I realized two things: first, he looks a lot like Ava did as an infant, and second, I remembered holding her in the same position while she slept at about the same age. So I took a picture of him...here are both pictures, aside from their noses (and the obvious feminine/masculine attire), I think they look a lot alike! It's the mouth and the eyes, and the squishy baby cheeks.

 CJ--2 Months

 Ava--2 Months

Tempting Fate

Last night I tried a new schedule with CJ: normally in the evenings, he is somewhat fussy but tends to doze off, usually falling into a pretty good sleep sometime around 8pm (when Ava is in the middle of her bedtime routine and I can't actually take care of him since I'm usually by myself)...this means I have to wake him up around 9pm to bathe and feed him: he then goes down easily at 10:00. I figured, hey, why don't I just bump things up a few hours so that CJ is going to bed at 8:00 when he's falling into a good sleep anyhow? I could bathe and feed him between 7-8 when Ava is watching her TV shows and then put him down right before it's time to read/say prayers. Sounded good in theory but he would. not. sleep. On the upside, he did hang out in his crib with very little fussing while I was doing the reading/prayers with Ava, so I was able to complete that part of her bedtime routine without juggling him as well. Afterwards, I fed him again and he FINALLY pooped (yeah, I know that's gross, welcome to my world)...which could have been a big reason why he wasn't going to sleep. At any rate, I was lucky because all that happened was that we ended up on our regular schedule (he went down at 9:45), and I didn't totally screw him up. So, either stomach discomfort is to blame or the change in routine was a stupid idea...I mean, he already does pretty well going down at 10:00 and sleeping until 5 or 6 the next morning. I just thought it would be nice to not have to wrangle two kids during Ava's routine and to just be done when she went to bed.  I think I'll give it a shot tonight and if it doesn't work I'll leave it alone...his schedule will be constantly evolving over the next few months anyhow, and I don't have to worry about getting up for work so it should be fine either way.

I'm also considering tempting fate today by taking the kids to the mall. By myself. Oh, did I mention I'm kicking myself for not buying a double stroller? If Ava had an ounce of sanity or common sense she could walk beside me while I pushed CJ in the stroller but I'm not sure I see that happening...I'm going to give the Moby a shot for CJ and stick her in the stroller. We need to get out of the house but it is insanely hot with suffocating humidity this week (heat index in the low 100s) so outside is not an option. UGH.

Also, I think CJ is teething. Yes, it's early. Ava and I both got our first tooth between 2-3 months of age so if he is, it's not a shock. He's fussier than usual, even during the morning when he's usually happiest, and drools like crazy. I think I feel a bump on his gums but I can't really tell.

Finally, here's a picture taken yesterday of my crazy kiddos...Ava asked me to take a picture of them. :) They are so adorable!!! (What an obnoxious "mom" thing to say, huh? It's possible I'm a little biased. ;o)

Ava-isms

I really should post more of the things Ava says and does, because she is absolutely hilarious right now! If I can keep up this more frequent blogging thing maybe it'll actually happen...anyhow, here are a few of her more recent funny moments:

• Last night she burst into the bathroom when I was about to step in the shower. First she informed me that she could see my butt. Then she said, "Mommy, you need to put clothes on or Daddy will see you naked!" So I told her, "Daddy has already seen me naked, sweetie." So she said, in an I-dare-you tone of voice, "Go out there!" (Meaning into the bedroom where Craig was watching TV.) So I did...Craig, of course, glanced up and went back to watching TV. Ava stood behind me having a giggling fit at the sight of Mommy standing naked in the same room as Daddy...it was pretty funny. 

• She told me the other day she wanted to be Shrek for Halloween. I told her I didn't think I'd be able to find a costume for her. She sat, silent for a moment, and then said, "Okay, then I want to be Rapunzel!" From Shrek to Rapunzel....? Okay...

• She frequently throws parties for her stuffed animals and dolls...in my bathroom. So I do have a pretty awesome bathroom, but party-worthy? Hmmmmm. She also commandeers CJ's baby equipment for her own babies and frequently reminds us to be quiet when they are sleeping, or has us help change their diapers, etc.  And when she names something, she incorporates what it is, or uses her own name, or both. For example, the snake that lives somewhere around our house is Snakey Snake. The turtle Craig found is Turtle Turtle Ava Turtle, and likewise one of her dolls is named Baby Baby Ava Baby. (Her other babies, named last year, are Baby Lauren, and Baby Tasha. She did name her boy baby "CJ".) The exceptions are two baby birds that were born and raised in our hanging fern plant: she named them Mr. Julio and Mr. Pedro.

• A few days ago I made us smoothies. (both of us need more fruit...this is a good way to get it. Frozen fruit, yogurt, low-sugar juice, and honey.) I gave Ava her smoothie and she said, "Mommy, could you make a smoothie out of....POOPIE?!" Umm...gross. I guess this is the age where kids start really asking about bodily functions and genitals, huh? (And to answer her question, I guess you could make a smoothie out of just about anything, but why would you want to?! We'll stick with fruit.) 

• A couple of months ago, she was giving us all titles: My mom and I were princesses, Craig was a prince, my dad was a human, and my brother Mike was a peanut. Ava declared herself the queen.

• When she first saw me feeding CJ after he was born, she thought it was hilarious. For the next few days, she tried to nurse her dolls...since then, she's gotten used to seeing her brother eat, but a few weeks ago she lined up her dolls next to me on the couch while I was feeding CJ and told me I had to feed them next. When I asked her how I was supposed to do that, she looked at me like I was a complete idiot and said, "With your boob!" She might as well have thrown in an eye-roll and said, "DUH!"

All right, that's about all I can think of for now, even though I know I have missed quite a bit! I'll end this post with some pictures...they were actually taken last October, so nearly ten months ago--Ava looks so different now! However, the pictures are adorable (and were taken by a sweet girl I used to baby-sit who is now all grown up and a very talented photographer)...enjoy!

Something they don't tell you about being a parent

If you were anything like me as a kid, you were somewhat of a nerd and was rejected by the prettier, more popular girls at school. I specifically remember an incident in fifth grade: one of those girls sent a friend of hers to inform me that I was "ugly, unpopular, and would never have a boyfriend." That's a direct quote. Fortunately, even though those things were hurtful, I realized that I would eventually go on to middle and high school and meet good people--which is exactly what happened. Anyhow, I'm getting off topic...yes, my feelings were sometimes hurt. But it doesn't even hold a candle to how it feels when you see it happen to your own child. Ava is only three years old, and I'm appalled that already I have had to witness catty behavior towards my daughter. I know I've had trouble with her lately, but when it comes to other kids, Ava thinks everyone between the ages of two and twelve is her best friend. Today at the pool, there were some significantly older kids but nobody Ava's age, so she was thrilled when a girl of about five showed up (only a year and a half older). Ava immediately asked the girl to be her friend and although she seemed reluctant at first, they ended up playing together. Awhile later, another girl showed up who was clearly friends with the first girl...immediately they started playing together and absolutely refused to have anything to do with Ava. My little girl sat on the steps and just stared down at her lap. I asked her what was wrong and in the saddest little voice I've ever heard, she said, "Nobody wants to be my friend." I almost cried right there at the pool (yeah, I'm crying now). I know I cannot force people to be decent and spare my daughter from that kind of hurt and rejection, the best I can do is try to give her a thick skin so it doesn't bother her much. I can't even describe how badly that ripped my heart out. Fortunately, another girl who is actually Ava's age showed up and they played together and she seemed to forget about the other girls, which is good.

This will not be the last time something like this happens...I have no idea how I am going to do this. I guess I just have to remember that I survived it without any lasting damage and if I raise my kids to be strong, independent, and self-confident, they'll survive it too.

Finding CJ

So, I went to Kohl's a few days ago and scored the above Carter's outfit for CJ for $1.60...sweet! What caught my attention was that the predominant colors (orange and navy blue) are Chicago Bears colors. Cute, right? So I put it on CJ and, even though I think he looks pretty adorable...is it just me or does he look like Nemo? *sigh...*

8 Years and a Birth Story

Three blog posts in 24 hours...wow! Anyhow, today is mine and Craig's eight year wedding anniversary...hooray for us! We're celebrating the momentous occasion as only we can...this means he's  out of town for work, and I'm at home taking care of the kids and the house and slowly going insane. ;o) Ah well. My mom will be here in a few weeks so we'll go out then, which means dinner and the final Harry Potter movie. Yes, we are huge nerds. Yes, we are okay with that. It's mostly for me but I suspect he enjoys the movies more than he lets on or we wouldn't have seen all of them since #4 in the theatre. Oh, and he saw #1 by himself at the theatre back in the day...can't remember when it came out but we may not have even been married yet. ANYHOW, it has been a great 4/5 of a decade (yes, I just used a fraction...I'm a nerd, remember? And a math nerd at that.) ...ups and downs, lots of changes, but overall I can't complain. I got the love of my life, who is my best friend and a fellow nerd out of the deal along with a move to North Carolina seven years ago which resulted in seven years at an awesome job and lots of great friends, and not to mention two adorable children...even if one is sort of evil. ;o) I should probably mention that my soulmate/love of my life/best friend/father of my children/partner in crime also forgot about our anniversary this year. *sigh* I am giving him a pass (after I give him some minor grief about it ;o), only because he IS super-busy and he finally knows my birth date and usually I try to save him the embarrassment of forgetting (because every year I know he's going to forget) by saying things frequently in the preceding weeks/days like, "Hey, honey, what do you want to do for our anniversary, which is next Tuesday?" or "I know we cannot go out on the 12th which is, of course, our actual anniversary, so what would be a better day?" I didn't do that this year, just because I wanted to see if he'd remember. Nope. Ah well.

CJ's Birth Day
So, if you've been reading this blog since it's beginning--back when I was pregnant with Ava--you no doubt remember the horrendous story of her birth. If not, well, chances are I've told you at some point. If not, you can find it here: Ava's Birth Day
You might want to avoid it though, it's graphic and disgusting. (Okay, so I find childbirth in general to be a pretty disgusting miracle...sorry, I'm pretty squeamish when it comes to those things!)

CJ's birth was, thankfully, NOTHING like Ava's.

I went in for a prenatal visit on my due date, which was May 17th...since there was no sign of impending labor save for the fact that I'd been walking around dilated 4.5 cm for a few weeks, my awesome doctor went ahead and put me on the schedule for an induction on Friday, May 20th, even though policy is that you have to be at least one week overdue before they induce. She has my undying gratitude for this. ANYHOW, they called me around 5pm on the 20th to let me know they were ready...I showered, grabbed my bags, and Craig and I took off for the hospital, both of us ready to get that baby out! Poor Ava stayed behind with my mom, completely unaware that her life was about to totally change. We got to the hospital, were checked in to a labor and delivery room, and just chilled out for awhile, watching TV. I don't remember the exact time frame but I think it was around 8pm when the doctor broke my water. This started hardcore contractions...I can't even describe them, but they were bad. After three of them I got an epidural because I'm no hero and last time I checked they weren't handing out awards for suffering through a drug-free delivery, so yeah. I'm all about some drugs. Unlike the epidural I had with Ava, this one worked, and it worked GOOOOOOOD. I swear, it melted my brain a little, and not in a bad way. We watched more TV, I got a few injections of Pitocin in my IV to keep the labor progressing. I dilated quickly and shortly after midnight, the nurse asked if I was ready to push. (I said, "Honestly, who's ever really ready for that?" She wasn't amused. Okay then.) I pushed twice, felt nothing, she called the doctor in. I pushed two more times, felt nothing. The doctor told me to push one more time...I did, I felt nothing, and CJ popped out. It was AMAZING...I was laughing and crying and as Craig pointed out, didn't even break a sweat. I look pretty good in the pictures taken just seconds after delivery, if I do say so myself. ;o) When Ava was born, I kind of looked like I belonged in a body bag. It was BAD. The post-delivery healing was just as bad: I ripped again and had stitches and it seemed like it took forever to recover, but my second born--although smaller than his sister--still weighed in at 8 lbs, 4 oz. and that does a little damage, no matter how fast the delivery. Overall though, it was a MUCH better experience for which I am extremely grateful!

 Just a few minutes after birth!

Mommy and CJ when he was just a few minutes old...I'm happy and relieved at such an easy delivery!

DA BEARS!

 Sweet baby boy

 

CJ with his bili-light: both of my kids had jaundice as newborns, but CJ's was bad enough to earn him a few days wrapped up in a special light. He looked radioactive. Poor kid.