Oh, what a night!

Last night was the first night it was just Rich and I left to control these two kids. It did not go well. Not well, at all. Here's a quick re-cap of the last 12-ish hours:

9:00 PM - Joseph, who sleeps through the night regularly, has been soundly asleep for the last 90 min. Conrad's just had a feeding, was a little fussy afterwards, but Rich has him settled and sleeping in his crib. We decide to head to bed.

9:30 PM - It's only 9:30 and we are enjoying actually being in bed together for the first time in two weeks. I actually comment to Rich "The newborn phase seems easier this time. Makes me want to have a whole gaggle of these kids". He gets a little scared but agrees it is easier.

10:00 PM - We've both dozed off only to be woken up by really loud thunder and heavy rain. The heavy rain turns into hail - really, large hail that is pounding our roof and we can hear coming through our chimney. I suddenly realize Joseph is standing up in his crib screaming. His room is right next to ours but we couldn't even hear him screaming because the hail was that loud. Rich goes into his room and brings back a terrified Joseph screaming "Mommy, Daddy". We cuddle him into our bed where he won't let either of us let go of him.

11:30 PM - Joseph's still in our bed because every time we hear a distant thunder rumble, he buries his head into our chest. No one has slept because in between thunder, Joseph wants to tell us how the baby goes "Wah! Wah! Wah!", ask for the "lights on" and to turn his "shows" on. It's clear Joseph's not going to sleep in our bed so once we are thunder free for 15 minutes, we send him back to his crib. We all settle in from some sleep...finally.

12:00 AM - Conrad is fussing and needs to be fed. Rich gets up to tend to him. 5 minutes later a loud thunder rumble comes through and Joseph is screaming again. He comes back into our bed. After 30 minutes, Conrad's crying and fussing from gas, which is making Joseph annoyed. I take Joseph into his room to try and rock him to sleep. He's having none of it - just wants to ask me for his books, airplanes and the cat. Back into his crib he goes. He screams his head off for 15 minutes, which only makes Conrad's fussing worse.

12:30 AM - I gather up a pillow and comforter and head into Joseph's room. I spend the next 30 minutes laying on his floor, reassuring him I am there until he settles down and falls asleep.

2:00 AM - I wake up on Joseph's floor after a quick snooze and sneak out. Conrad's finally settled back into his crib after a ridiculous 5 ounces of milk! I think to myself that Conrad will certainly sleep a solid 4 hours with that much food in his belly and Joseph should be good until after 6 am - I can survive on 4 hours of sleep.

2:30 AM - I've barely settled back in bed and Conrad starts crying. How can this kid be hungry already? Sure enough, he is. He's in our bed for the next 90 minutes either eating or fussing.

4:00 AM - After a brief snooze, Conrad is back awake and wanting to eat again! I take him into the den so that Rich can at least get some sleep. For the next hour he eats and fusses and eats some more and fusses some more. He seems so uncomfortable from gas. By 5, he finally settled into sleep on my chest. I sleep in fits for a little bit.

6:30 AM - Joseph wakes up screaming for Rich. He's ready to start his day, which means so are we. AWESOME!

Not surprisingly, Joseph is a hot cranky mess today. He's 3 hours short of his normal sleep, he doesn't understand where PopPop and Grandma T went or why it's 10 am and he hasn't been out of the house yet. It's tantrum central here today.

Conrad continues to eat extraordinary quantities of food every 2 hours and then be completely fussy afterwards. Rich actually called the pedi this morning because he decided this wasn't normal. They suggested it *could* be a food allergy and said I should limit my diet...which includes no caffeine. Hello, phone nurse, did you miss the "we were up all night" part? No caffeine today? I also checked out Dr. Sear's elimination diet for food allergies. For 2 WEEKS I should eat organic turkey or lamb, rice or potatoes (with salt and pepper only), squash and pears ONLY to see if the gassiness will get better. I love ya, Conrad, but if that's the solution, I hope you like formula.

For now, I am just going to try some gas reducing methods and chalk it up to a really bad night. Hopefully, tonight will be better. If not....pray for us.

UPDATE: It's 1 pm, Joseph's nap time. Conrad just fed and is actually sleeping well. We think we'll squeeze in a nap while Joseph naps. Nope - he's been screaming for 10 solid minutes in his crib. He's so overtired and that never is good news for his napping. Yes....start praying for us.

Joseph and the "Po Po"

We had some dramaz around here this morning. Drama slightly more serious than the usual "I want cookies for breakfast" or "I want to go to the park at 6:45 am" tantrums from Joseph or Conrad's "Feed me now. It's been 2 hours since I last ate" or "My diaper is being changed and I am cold" screaming.

Yes, someone tried to break into our house. Rich was at work and my Dad had taken Joseph to the park so there were no cars in the driveway. I was feeding Conrad and chatting with my mom when the doorbell rang. We figured it was a delivery person so my mom went to the door but ignored it when she realized it was just two teenagers, most likely selling something. 30 seconds later they started ringing the doorbell incessantly and knocking really loudly. I immediately got nervous and told my mom to go yell to them to leave us alone so they would know someone was in the house. By the time she got back to the front of the house, they were headed up my driveway, almost to our back door. My mom knocked on the window and they said they were looking for "James" and quickly headed up the street.

I called the police since the whole thing just seemed shady. The police picked them up a few blocks over....two sixteen year-olds with prior juvenile records for breaking and entering and screwdrivers that had been altered for easily breaking into doors in their possession. The police arrested them for attempted breaking and entering and stopped by our house so I could give a signed statement.

Joseph thought the police were pretty cool and we got a couple pictures of him hanging out with the police. He's been walking around saying "po po" since they left. These cracked us up....Joseph behind bars talking to police. Let's hope it's the one and only time that happens....

Luckily I keep my doors locked during the day and we have a security system but the police emphasized that if someone comes to your door, don't ignore it!!!! Don't open the door for them but just yell to them so they know someone is home. Most of these thieves are petty criminals and have no interest in breaking into a house with someone in it because it's a much more serious crime than a breaking and entering attempt.

Look-a-likes

My boys definitely look similar. My first reaction when I saw Conrad for the first time was "He looks like Joseph". Over the next couple days in the hospital, we actually started to think he didn't look as much like Joseph as we initially thought. He seemed to favor Rich a little more, while Joseph was a mini-me from the beginning. However, the last few days, Conrad has started looking identical to Joseph's baby pics. I posted some pictures of Conrad to Facebook while Rich was napping and when he saw them, he had to ask me if they were Conrad or old pics of Joseph. Here are some comparison shots.

Joseph:

Conrad:

Joseph:

Conrad:

Joseph:

Conrad:

They definitely have their differences. Conrad clearly has my turned-up nose, while Joseph does not and Conrad was not blessed with Joseph's mile long eyelashes. Conrad has "Nana lips" which is a dominant trait passed from Rich's grandmother of a lower lip so thin, it's barely visible. Joseph has full lips. They both have Rich's pointy chin and quirky ears (Rich has these little nubs on each of his ears that both boys also clearly have) but my darker coloring.

I can't wait to watch these two grow up together and discover how much they will resemble each other and how similar or different their personalities are going to be!

Homecoming

Joseph is on a walk with his Daddy (By walk we don't mean out for a casual ride in the stroller because Joseph conveniently decided about 3 weeks ago he was done with the stroller. No, Rich and Joseph are off exploring the neighborhood by foot searching for puppies and cats and flowers and birds and all the other things Joseph likes to point out and chase). Conrad is swinging in his swing - although he's starting to fuss so I may be pushing my luck trying to blog - so I found 10 minutes to get all our pictures and videos from the last few days off the cameras.

Here is some video and photo documentation of Conrad's homecoming on Wednesday.

Car ride home:

A loving welcome from Grandma and Joseph:

Joseph's first response to his little brother (you can see he is more interested in the cat and his chip):

Later, Joseph's attempts to "entertain" Conrad:

A New Normal

First, let me officially introduce the newest addition to our family, Conrad Ashley. Conrad arrived on Monday weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long.

I had a quick labor but significantly painful delivery. Apparently my body and epidurals don't get along. With Joseph my epi wore off on one side after an hour. I had to get a 2nd epi, which was so dense, I couldn't move my legs for 6 hours after he was born. The upside was that I felt nothing when delivering him. The same thing happened this time, except I was 9 cm dilated when it wore off....and it hurt...bad, really bad....like "Get this kid out now!!!!!!" bad. I begged my nurse to call the anesthesiologist but instead she sent my OB in to break the news that I had no time for an epi re-do and was going to have to deliver virtually pain-med free (at least on one side). I pushed for 10 min with Joseph so I thought to myself "You can do anything for 10 minutes." Well, 10 minutes turned into about 30 min this time. There was some screaming of "Ow. It hurts. It hurts" and "Just let me push!", searing pain and unbelievable pressure and he arrived....beautiful, healthy and significantly larger than anyone in the room was expecting. My OB looked at me and said "Well, I'm glad we did this a week early because next week would have been a whole different delivery."

The last few days have been happy, wonderful, crazy, chaotic and tiring all at the same time. Conrad is a great eater - he likes to eat every 2-2 1/2 hours, which is a daunting task when breastfeeding. He seems content to be put in a bouncy chair or swing for 30 minute stretches - something Joseph was never happy about.

Joseph loves his brother - he's so interested in him and comes running every time he makes a noise to see what he is doing. He loves helping me with diaper changes. He brings me the supplies and waits patiently to put the dirty diaper in the trash for me. He likes to tell me that Conrad has a "butt" and a "pee pee". Conrad is rather dramatic about his diaper changes and Joseph loves to mimic both the sound and volume of his crying and laughs his head off afterwards. Joseph continues to be hyperactive so balancing his need to go "out! out! out!" and my recovery and newborn care is well, hmmmm....challenging. Thank god my mom is here and keeping Joseph entertained. I think I may kidnap her and force her to stay past next Sunday.

I promise to have more pictures and videos up soon. Right now they are still sitting on our cameras and on a long to-do list we need to get to. This to-do list also includes updating the name and look of this blog. Right now we are in serious survival mode. Here is a small glimpse of why it's hard to get much done these days...

8 am - My mom has made everyone breakfast and is cleaning the kitchen. I'm trying to eat while balancing Joseph's desire to climb on the couch and sit with me and climb back off to sit and eat his breakfast....a pattern that repeats 50 times in 10 minutes. Conrad is happily sleeping in his Moses basket. I manage to get on Facebook for 3 minutes. Everything is relatively calm. Then in 2 seconds all hell breaks loose. Conrad starts screaming and I realize he's soaked through (damn leaky diapers). He screams his head off while I change him and while trying to calm him down he starts sucking my neck....time for another feeding! I get him settled in for a feeding, which Joseph sees as an opportune time to run and jump on the couch. After 5 requests to sit down, he gives me a devil-ish grin and continues. My mom swoops in him to send him off to timeout - 2 minutes of Joseph screaming. He comes back out calmer but 30 minutes later and Conrad is still feeding, breakfast is cold and Joseph is begging my mom to take him "out".

So please forgive us if your e-mail goes unanswered, I don't pick up your phone call or you don't see a ton of pictures for a little longer. We're just figuring this 2 kid thing out.

Here's one last post...

before I have a baby!!!

So it looks like tomorrow is the day. On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I was starting to think I wouldn't make it that far, but as quick as my contractions came, they went. So unless sometime in the next 11 hours, I go into labor, I'll be headed to the hospital at 7 am tomorrow for induction.

I am not sure if the full reality that I am having a baby tomorrow has hit me. The bag is packed, the nursery is ready, in addition to the mounds of plastic toddler toys there are the plastic newborn essentials of a swing and bouncy seat overtaking our den. However, I have not fully wrapped my head around the idea that I will have a second child this time tomorrow. There have been a few times today when it hit me...when Rich and I drove past the hospital or as I was putting Joseph to bed and told him he'd be a big brother tomorrow...and I would tear up thinking about what an amazing moment it's going to be to meet my second baby boy tomorrow.

So tonight will likely be a restless night of sleep...a mix of anxiety and excitement. Anxious that my labor and delivery will go smoothly, that our baby boy will arrive perfectly healthy, excited to see what he looks like and excited to see Joseph's reaction when he meets him. We can't wait to share our joy and excitement with you tomorrow!

March 15th!

Until today if someone said "March 15th" to mean, I would immediately think "Public company 10-K Filing Deadline!!!" I know for most of you, I just spoke Chinese but as a CPA in audit, March 15th meant my client's deadline for their annual financial statement filings. It meant a long week of 80+ hours at work, working Saturday and Sunday, eating lunch and dinner at my desk, thinking about work so much that I would literally dream about accounting rules and regulations at night.

Well, it looks like March 15th is about to be totally re-defined. Conrad's induction is scheduled for next Monday, the 15th! We had an ultrasound today to make sure the fluid levels looked ok (they did!) and get an estimated weight (7 lbs 3 oz). Conrad is in the 50th percentile for his gestational age and looked great! We saw a 3-D image of his face and although he wasn't being very cooperative (he wanted his hands over his face), he did get one little peak at his sweet little face. His nose looked like Joseph's! We could only pick up some fuzz on the top of his head so he may not have the full head of dark hair Joseph had. We are thinking fuzz may equal blond????

I am very progressed. I will save you the details on the status of my cervix....but today at 38 weeks, I was as progressed as I was when I was induced with Joseph at 40 1/2 weeks. Based on my previous induction history, my doctor thinks I'll be holding Conrad by mid-afternoon on Monday. We promise to keep everyone updated once he is here!!!!

The only catch to this whole plan is that the doctor delivering (who happens to be one of my favorites) is a Syracuse grad (i.e Georgetown's big rival) and the Big East tournament is scheduled for this weekend. Georgetown is scheduled to play Syracuse in the quarter-final and some trash talking went down at the appointment today. I stayed out of it, but since it's not Rich being poked and prodded by this man, he didn't seem to mind talking crap while my doctor examined me. Someone is going to have to eat their words on Monday morning...let's hope it's the doctor!

I know the next week will go by quickly but I am so anxious and excited to meet this little man and welcome him to our family.

Stinky Feet

You probably thought the title of this post was some clever name for something not actually related to feet. Nope, it's really about stinky feet. That's because Joseph's feet stink. They have since the beginning. I think most people would think I am crazy but both my mom and Richard can verify this. If Joseph was in socks or footed PJs for any length of time, even as a newborn, his feet would stink. It's gotten worse since he started walking and wearing shoes.

These days the kid loves his dinosaur Vans (a gift from Uncle Jeff) but they've been worn so much, there is some serious odor going on. If he's been wearing them and I take them off, I literally have to put a blanket over his feet when I am sitting next to him. If I leave the shoes out and walk by, I can smell them.

Joseph thinks his funny. We tell him "Your feet stink!" and he laughs. We think he kind of likes the way he smells. Hence, the reason why he often smells his own feet after we take his shoes off. It looks something like this:

Add this is reason #4592 that Joseph is just like his father. First, his feet stink...and anyone who has been around Rich for more than 24 hours, knows where this trait has been inherited from. I used to make Rich go wash his feet when he took off his shoes in my apartment at college. He blames it on years of competitive running. I blame it on genetics. Second, Rich takes a weird pleasure in his foot odor. He seems rather proud of it and frequently exclaims "Wow, my dogs are barking tonight!" when he takes his shoes off after work. I refuse to touch his socks. I'll spare you any further details as some of you may have just finished eating....