Happy Halloween!

Costume hunting for Halloween is always an adventure.  Since we live in the frozen tundra northern Illinois, I know that, most likely, it's going to be cold and/or rainy for trick-or-treating.  I really don't like the idea of spending a fortune on a Halloween costume, only to have it be covered up by a coat.  So, I search for warm options.  Drew suggested Annelise's costume this year, and I dressed Harrison up as an accessory.

Annelise is an eskimo and Harrison is a polar bear!  Cute, huh?

We went over to Drew's grandma's house after Annelise woke up from her nap to show off their costumes.  Once we got back home, we bundled Annelise up in some gloves, put Harrison in the stroller with a bunch of blankets and took off to trick-or-treat.  Harrison didn't make it too long before he was screaming and wanted to eat.  I brought him back home and Drew took Annelise house to house.  They didn't go to nearly as many houses as we all went to last year, and I'm sure the cold had everything to do with that.

Apple Orchard

Drew started a three week long training class for work today, so he's working days during the week for the next three weeks.  Today was probably the last pretty warm day that we're going to have, so we decided to take advantage of it and take a quick trip to the apple orchard once Drew got home from class.  We didn't have much time, but you don't exactly need that much time when the whole purpose of the trip is donuts and apples, right?  And, we had to take the annual family picture by the sign!

We took pictures as soon as we got there.  After pictures, we went into the barn and got some donuts, apples, and apple butter.  Then, we stopped and grabbed a bite to eat before letting Annelise run around and play for a little bit.

I was actually starting to get a little worried that we wouldn't make it out there.  Annelise can handle a little bit of chilly weather, but I wouldn't want to take Harrison if it was too cold.  So, I'm really glad that we made it to the apple orchard today.

Rainbow Rice Sensory Activity

A few months ago, I made some rainbow rice for Annelise for a sensory activity.  I figured that it would be a good activity to keep her busy while someone watched her while I was in the hospital with Harrison.  No one actually used it, and it has just sat on the counter since then.  This morning, Harrison went back to sleep just as Annelise was waking up.  I fed her breakfast, and then asked her if she wanted to play with the rainbow rice.  She was entertained for a good 40 minutes until Harrison woke up.  She actually probably would have played longer if I let her.

Rainbow Rice

6 freezer bags
Food coloring
1 5 lb bag of rice
1 bottle of hand sanitizer

1) Put 2 cups of rice into 6 freezer bags.
2) Add 15 drops of food coloring to each bag.  Orange = 8 yellow + 8 red.  Purple = 8 red + 8 blue
3) Add 2 tablespoons of hand sanitizer to each bag.  (I did 20-25 pumps)
4) Mix together and let sit for 20-25 minutes.
5) Heat oven to 170 degrees and dry rice for 15-18 minutes.

Pumpkin Patch

Nothing screams fall more than trips to the Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard.  Today, we all went to the Pumpkin Patch.  Annelise had an absolute blast, Harrison was mainly along for the ride, and Drew and I love seeing the joy on Annelise's face.

The first thing that we did was get a wrist band so that Annelise could ride the ponies and jump on the inflatables.

After watching her ride, I'm fairly certain that she could ride by herself without us next to her.  I just can't get over how fast she's growing up.

After the pony ride, we took the obligatory family picture in front of the pumpkin.

Annelise spotted the inflatables, so we made our way over to them so she could slide and bounce for a little bit.  Harrison and I hung out while Drew stuck close to Annelise.

Drew and I were starting to get hungry, so we sweet talked Annelise into getting out of the bounce house and going and getting some lunch.  After lunch, we took Annelise to look at the animals.  She got a kick out of the ducks, and one of them kept quacking at her.

Then, we picked out our pumpkins.  We decided not to go pick our own this year since it was so windy.  If I would have been able to leave Harrison in the stroller and out of the wind, we would have gone, but I didn't want to make him miserable.

Annelise asked to have a cookie while we were paying for the pumpkins.  I agreed since she had been so good.  We put her in the wagon to ride out to the car.  Once we got out there, Drew looked at me and asked if she had opened the cookie all by herself.  Uh, duh!  I love being able to experience all these firsts again with Harrison.  But, I also know that next year will be even more fun when he's older and able to enjoy them more.

Three Months - Harrison

Dear Harrison,

So many fun and exciting things have happened in the past month.  Watching you grow is so fun for me.  You are growing so fast.  You are wearing 6 month clothing and size 3 diapers!  I transitioned you to size 2 diapers, and then a little over two weeks later, you needed to move up a size.  Unreal!  I just can't believe how big you've gotten already.  A part of me is so proud because I know that you are growing well because of me.  And let me tell you, you sure do eat!

Your sleep has definitely regressed this month.  You went from sleeping until at least 5 AM, to waking up around 3 AM, then getting up every two hours or so after that.  Buddy, Mommy is exhausted.  Naps are hit or miss.  Some days are pretty good, some days are awful.  You are still sleeping at night in the Rock N Play in Mommy and Daddy's room, and naps are in your swing.  My goal is to start working on transitioning you to your crib this month.

I've been a slacker on tummy time for you.  You're just so cranky usually, that I don't want to make it worse.  And the times that you are happy, I don't want to ruin it by sticking you on your tummy.  I've been trying to make an effort to put you down more.  I laid you down on your tummy one day and you rolled over to your back.  I sort of set you up for it though, because you were already sort of on your side.  When I lay you on the floor on your back to change your diaper, sometimes you will roll onto your side.  I think it will be a little bit before you actually complete the roll, but part of me feels like you might roll back to belly first.

Your two month appointment was almost a week after your two month birthday.  At first, you didn't mind it, and didn't even scream during the weighing and measuring.  However, while waiting for the nurse to come back in for your vaccines, you got quite impatient and started to scream.  You were not a fan of the shots, obviously, and then ran a fever the next day.  But, in spite of the fever, you were still pretty smiley.

You had your first "cold" this month.  Basically it was just a little congestion.  I noticed it particularly after you were laying down.  Once I sat you up, you didn't seem as bad.  I think that sleeping inclined in the RNP helped.

You have started to really love watching Annelise.  If she's close by, she has all of your attention.  I love to see you watch her.  She loves playing with you, and I know that she's looking forward to the day when she doesn't have to be quite so gentle with you.

You have also started to take an interest in the tv.  I catch you watching it all the time.  I think you just love the lights and colors.  I set up the activity mat for you, and you like it, but only for a little bit.  I think that you get a little overwhelmed with it all.

This next month will be very busy with lots of activities for your first fall.  I can't wait to experience all these firsts again with you.  I know that you won't remember any of it, but I'll take lots of pictures for you.

Love you forever,
Mommy

Catching Up

Annelise has been in Kindermusik since she was about 9 months old.  We have both loved taking the classes.  During the summer break, Drew and I debated about whether or not we should re-enroll her in Kindermusik, or if we should sign her up for another class that is a little more physical.  We ultimately decided to sign her up for a gymnastics class.  We started that earlier this month.  She has absolutely loved it!

I have been the one in the class with her, although Drew and Harrison have come and sat outside in the viewing area.  At this point, I think that Annelise just thinks it's one big playground, and I usually have a very difficult time getting her to listen and focus on what she's supposed to be doing.  I'm hoping that after a few more classes, that she'll relax a little bit and start working on some of the skills that they are trying to teach.

If I'm being honest, I miss Kindermusik classes.  The instructor has started doing a First Friday Playdate and I think that I'm going to take Annelise to those.

Annelise has developed the habit of climbing out of her crib.  At first, I thought it was just a fluke and I tried explaining to her that we don't climb on the furniture, or out of the crib, and it seemed to work.  For about a day.  After a couple days of her climbing out of her crib, I realized that it was now a habit and there was no going back.  We even tried dropping the mattress all the way to the floor and that didn't deter her much.  So, this happened:

Yep, the toddler bed.  She usually goes to bed around 10 PM and will get up between 7:30-8:00 AM.  The first night in her toddler bed, she didn't go to bed until midnight and she was up at 5:45 AM!  Needless to say, the transition has been a little rough.  She's been up around 6:00 AM since we set it up.  We bought a gate to go in her doorway to try and contain her a little bit, although she has already scaled that once.  Toddlers, nothing but trouble I tell ya!  This morning I did manage to convince her to go back to bed for a little bit and she slept for about an hour longer.

Harrison has been growing like a weed!  I've transitioned him to 6 month clothing and I put him in size 3 diapers yesterday.  I stepped on the scale with him and he's about 14 pounds!  Have I mentioned that he's not even 3 months old yet?  He's a tank!

We all went to the Madison zoo on Thursday.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and there were hardly any people there.  Perfection!

Both of the kids were so good.  Annelise walked the whole time since Harrison rode in the stroller.  She loved being able to see the animals and roam around.  With the exception of a small battle in the parking lot to hold our hands, she listened very well.  It's so fun to take her places when she's happy and well behaved.  I love to watch her as she grows and learns things.

Drew started a new job at O'Hare earlier this month.  He commutes with a few other guys that work the same shift as him.  He really seems to enjoy the new job more than his last one.  I'm happy that he's happier at work.

I've been second shooting weddings and I absolutely love it.  It gives me an opportunity to get out of the house and "work" some.  It doesn't really feel like work though.  I really enjoy shooting and I enjoy working with Kristen.  October is going to be such a busy month and it will probably fly by.

Two Months - Harrison

Dear Harrison,

It feels like you should be so much older than two months.  I can't remember what it was like before you were here.  Well, I do remember that it was a little quieter, and I had a little more free time.  But, both are changes that come with a new baby and you are so worth it.

Sleep is still going very well.  I'm so thankful that you sleep as well as you do.  I almost hate to talk about it because I don't want to jinx it.  You can put yourself to sleep often, and that makes me very proud.  Basically, you sleep all night.  Some nights are harder than others to get you down, depending on how overstimulated you are.  Once you're asleep, you usually sleep until at least 5 AM.  Most of time, you sleep even later.  Typically, you will fall back asleep after eating and sleep for a couple more hours.  Honestly, you really do sleep all morning, with a little awake time if I really force it on you.  However, once you wake up in the afternoon, you're generally up until it's time for you to go to bed.  This needs to be fixed.  You get so cranky at night from both overstimulation and exhaustion.  Buddy, just take a late afternoon/early evening nap and we'll all be happier!

You started smiling this month.  I had forgotten just how absolutely thrilling it is for a newborn to smile.  I feel like you love me so much when you give me that huge, gummy grin.  You've even started to coo a little bit as you smile.  It's small and quiet, but you'll say "Ahh" and I just melt.

Mommy went back to "work" this month and you've stayed with Daddy all day.  I miss you so much while I'm gone, but I know that you're in great hands, and that it's good for both of us for me to get away a little bit.  I was fully expecting you to nurse like crazy when I got home, but you didn't seem to miss it that much.

Daddy got the Bumbo out yesterday and put you in it for the first time.  You really seem to like to be able to sit up and see everything.  You smile and look all around.  After a little bit, you start to slump some and I know that you're over it and we need to switch to a different position.  I can't believe how strong you are already.  You hate tummy time, of course, but we need to work on it more so that you can work on rolling.

Annelise still adores you.  One day, she decided that she would pick you up out of your swing and put you on the couch.  Daddy discovered you both.  I was a little terrified when he told me.  I'm so thankful that she didn't drop you, and now we're watching her even closer.  I never thought that she would actually pick you up.  You are starting to watch her even more and you have a look of contentment on your face.  However, you save all the smiles for me.  I won't be selfish, you can give your sister some too!

You weigh 12 pounds 15.5 ounces (73rd percentile) and 23.5 inches long (65th percentile).  You are in a size one diaper, and 0-3 month clothing.  You are 1 pound 13 ounces and 2 inches bigger than your sister was at her 2 month appointment.

Harrison, I knew that I was going to love you, but I never imagined that it would be this much.  It's amazing how much my heart just swells with love when I see you.  Watching you grow and get bigger and reach new milestones is so bittersweet.  With your sister, I was so anxious to have her grow up and do new things.  With you, I know how fast it goes and I want it to slow down.  It's so crazy how different things are, but different in such a good way.

Love always,
Mommy

Lately

Good grief, you'd think I was busy with two kids or something!  I'm not going to sugar coat it, the transition to two kids has been tough.  Annelise is a typical two year old.  One minute she'll be sweet as can be and my heart just wants to burst at her adorableness, and the next minute she's like Satan's spawn and I'm afraid that her head is going to turn around in circles.  Bipolar much?  I'm very much looking forward to when she's old enough to manage her emotions a little better.  For now though?  All I can do is try to help her through it and remain patient myself.  And, if I'm being honest, it's a work in progress for me too.

Harrison is growing like a weed.  He's getting more alert every day.  I just finished his birth story book and I can't believe that it's already been almost two months since he was born.  I'll be writing his two month letter in just a few days.  Geez!

Drew and I have decided that we're going to sign Annelise up for gymnastics classes.  She's been in Kindermusik for quite a while now, and I think we're ready to switch it up some.  We're going to do one semester of gymnastics and see how she likes.  We plan on re-evaluating after the holidays and decide if we'll continue the gymnastics, or go back to Kindermusik.

As if I don't have enough on my plate with a toddler and a newborn, I've decided that I'm going to work on doing some homeschooling with Annelise.  She learned how to count to 10 the other day and seeing her excitement over learning that makes me want to teach her more.  She seems so eager to learn now.  I'm going to try and blog what we do along the way.

And since every post is better with a picture, here's the two kids yesterday.

One Month - Harrison

Dear Harrison,

I just can't believe that a whole month has flown by since you were born!  I have a feeling that your first year is going to go much faster than your sister's did.  I've been a bit of a slacker so far, but I'm going to work very hard to make sure that I do as good of a job, if not better, at documenting it.  I remember making your sister's first year book and wishing that I had taken more pictures.  I don't want to look back and think the same for you.

Let's start with sleep.  You are a pretty decent sleeper.  You go to bed between 10-11 PM every night and sleep until at least 3 AM, sometimes even later.  So, we get a stretch of four to six hours.  After that first wake up, you'll get up again an hour or two later, eat, and usually fall right back to sleep.  Most of the time I let you snooze on me until I get out of bed to get your sister up.  You usually wake up shortly after that.  Naps have been a challenge some days.  You love to sleep on me, which is to be expected.  Sometimes I can sit there and let you sleep, but some days it's not really possible.  I've noticed that you like to sleep on your side.  So, if I put you down in your swing, I prop you on your side and you'll sleep longer that way.  I need to work on getting you to nap in your crib.  However, I need to order a monitor for your room.

Breastfeeding has gone wonderfully!  You latched on right away at the hospital and haven't had any issues at all.  You spit up like crazy though, and it really bothers me.  I hate it because I feel like it's something that shouldn't happen and I don't want you uncomfortable.  I try to burp you during your feedings and stop you before you get too full, but it doesn't always help.  I've also tried to cut dairy out of my diet, but I don't feel like it really matters much.

You also had your first bottle this month.  I took your sister to Kindermusik and left you at home with Aunt Rachel and Daddy.  You were hesitant about the bottle at first, but once you realized that you could get milk, you liked it.  The same thing happened with your sister.  You haven't had any issues with taking a bottle, a paci, and going back to the breast.  I'm so thankful for that!

You have started to become more aware and alert.  I like to interact with you, even if you are quite boring at this age.  I'm so anxious for you to smile and "talk" to me.  I've forgotten how boring this age is.  You are quite cranky in the evening though.  It's very hard to do dinner and bedtime for your sister when I'm home by myself and you just want to be held all night.  I feel so bad when I have to put you down and you cry so hard.  It really does break my heart.

Annelise is obsessed with you!  She is always asking to hold you, and if you're crying, she asks if you're ok.  She gives you a ton of hugs and kisses.  I can see that you've started to become interested in her and will look at her.  She has some work to do with being gentle with you, but I know it won't be long before you're able to hold your own against her.

I stepped on the scale with you and it said that you weigh 10 pounds.  I don't think I believe that, but it could be true.  I have already moved you into size one diapers, even though they are pretty big.  I've also been putting you in 0-3 month clothes, even though those are fairly big too.

I almost don't remember what life was like before you arrived.  You have fit into our family and I love being the four of us now.

Love always,
Mommy

Harrison's Birth Story

I checked into the hospital on Wednesday, July 2 at about 6 PM.  I was taken to my room and changed into a gown and got into bed to get hooked up to the monitors.  The day nurse was finishing up her shift and she worked on getting all the paperwork filled out.  Once the night nurse, Megan, came in, she started my IV and got me hooked up to the monitors.  Thankfully, the IV was less drama than last time!  I told Megan that Harrison was not a fan of the heartbeat monitor and that he would probably be a pain to monitor and keep running away from it.  I was right, and Megan spent the majority of her shift in my room trying to keep him on the monitor.

Pitocin was started at about 8:15 PM.  It was gradually increased every half an hour, but only as long as Harrison stayed on the monitor long enough to watch his heart rate.  At one point, Megan asked another nurse to come in and try to find his heartbeat.  She succeeded, but it was short lived.

At around 1 AM, my contractions began to intensify to the point where I had to focus and breathe through them.  I was surprised at how quickly they escalated.  Before then, I wasn’t feeling much in terms of contractions.  All of sudden, they came strong!  I ordered the epidural at 1:30 AM, and the anesthesiologist came in to administer it at around 2:00 AM.  Once he was finished, I laid flat on my back and waited for it to take effect.  My toes were very tingling and I commented that I didn’t feel like that last time.

Megan checked my progress once the epidural had taken effect.  I was a “loose 1”.

Harrison was still running away from the heart rate monitor, and now that I had both the Pitocin and the epidural going, it was even more important to keep him on the monitor.  He wasn’t cooperating.  After Megan had spent a great amount of time trying to find him, she asked another nurse to come in.  This nurse decided to move the contraction to the bottom and the heart rate monitor to the top.  She found his heartbeat and I commented that it was weird that it was so high.  He said that sometimes the machines pick it up in weird sports.  She left, and I laid there and rested for eyes for a little bit.

Shortly after 4 AM, Megan came back into the room.  She told me that she hated to ruin the surprise, but that we would get to witness Dr. Manas’ awesome bedhead.  We had been joking earlier in the night that it was too bad that I wouldn’t be delivering overnight because Dr. Manas comes in with awesome bedhead.  I asked why I would get to see him and she said that they called him and he wanted to come in and scan me because he thought that Harrison was breech given where the heart beat was found.  My heart sank!

Dr. Manas arrived around 4:20 AM and immediately did an ultrasound.  His suspicions were confirmed and Harrison had indeed turned breech.  Dr. Manas ordered that the Pitocin be stopped and let me know that we would have to do a c-section.  I was heartbroken, and everybody could see it.  Dr. Manas said that he couldn’t send me home because of the meds, and he didn’t want to risk turning the baby and rupturing my bag of waters and causing complications.  I, of course, agreed to the c-section and once everyone had left the room, I cried.

There were c-sections already scheduled for the morning, and since it wasn’t an emergency, I was told that I would go back at about noon.  Drew and I called everyone that needed to know, and filled them in on the situation and that I would be having a c-section.  Dr. Manas said that Dr. Holden would be in for the surgery too.  He came in to see us and we chatted with him for over an hour about what he was doing since he was no longer practicing at ARC.

It was around noon that I began getting prepped for the surgery.  Nurses came in to fill out paperwork, Drew was given his scrubs, and I was given a nasty drink to drink that would help lower the acidity in my stomach.  Once Dr. Manas ordered the c-section, I was no longer allowed to have any sort of liquid, even ice chips.  So, I was actually a little glad for the nasty drink because I was very thirsty.

I was wheeled back to the OR and entered at exactly 1:00 PM.  I remember seeing the clock on the wall.  I moved over to the operating table and everyone in the room began to get prepared for surgery.  There were three anesthesiologists; one main one, an intern, and a student.  The main one basically stood back and supervised the other two.  Once they had dosed up the epidural, Dr. Manas asked if I could feel anything.  I told him no, and he called for Drew to be brought in.  Then, he asked for a knife and I started crying.  I was completely overwhelmed and still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that I was having a c-section.

The rest of the surgery was a bit of a blur.  I felt nauseous and threw up a few times.  The anesthesiologists were very kind and helped to reassure me, especially since I was crying.  I remember it being very hard to keep my eyes open and I felt extremely tired.  I later learned that my blood pressure was very low and the main anesthesiologist was keeping a very close eye on it.

I heard Dr. Manas call out that there was extra fluid, and then I heard a splash on the floor.  Harrison was born quickly later at 1:17 PM and he was immediately taken to the warmer.  I heard him cry and I felt awful that I couldn’t comfort him.  I kept looking over to try to see him, but I couldn’t see anything and it was still hard to keep my eyes open.  After just a few minutes, he was wrapped up and brought over for me to see.  Before surgery, I had been told that I could hold him if I wanted to and do skin-to-skin.  I wasn’t stable enough, so Drew took him out to the nursery.  Harrison weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 19 ¾ inches long.

Dr. Manas finished up with the surgery.  A benefit of having the c-section meant that he could look at the endometriosis.  He cleaned up the endo from my uterus, tubes, and ovaries, and then sewed me up.  I was taken to recovery.  My blood pressure was still very low, so I was being monitored closely for that.  It was still hard to keep my eyes open.  Drew came in and told me that I needed to breastfeed Harrison soon because his sugars were low.  I could tell that the nurse was a little concerned because my blood pressure was still low.  I told them to bring him in so that I could nurse him.  Drew left, and returned a little bit later with a lactation consultant who brought Harrison in.  Harrison latched immediately and did a great job nursing.  I was finally allowed to have some ice chips!  Ice never tasted so good.

I stayed in recovery until about 4:15 PM and was then moved to my room.  Once I was all set up in there, Rachel brought Annelise to the hospital to meet Harrison.  She loved him and kept kissing him and hugging him and wanted to hold him.  

Even though the birth didn’t turn out how I imagined it, I was so happy that Harrison arrived safely and he was healthy.


All images compliments of Photography by Kristen.