March 19, 2010

The past few weeks have been hell, but this week has gotten soooo much better!!! Thank you Zantac!! I took Ryder to the pediatrician's on Monday and got confirmed what I suspected: reflux. Poor kid. We got Zantac prescribed and it seems to be making a difference. The reflux isn't completely gone, but Ryder is doing so much better in comparison to the past few weeks. He still has the occasional painful crying spell, but by far not as often as he used to. He is calmer in the car, sleeps better and is a calmer and happier baby.

At night I nurse him and I can just "plop" him back in the co-sleeper without 45minutes of soothing. Wonderful. Napping during the day is still all over the place, without any kind of routine in it, but I have given up trying to figure that out right now. If he wants to sleep, he sleeps, and if that is on me, then so be it. When this phase of reflux and all is past us, in a few months, I will start the sleep training and I will start getting him to sleep in his crib. For now, I want him to be comfortable and happy, that's all I care about.

Other than that, this week has been busy. We had a play date over at Joanne's & Colt's on Tuesday. It was great to see some of the mommies again, it had been so long! On Wednesday the kids and I did grocery shopping and on Thursday I took the boys shopping as summer temps had arrived here in LA and Kai did not have ANY shorts to wear. We went out and bought him the coolest ;-) Lightling McQueen sandals that light up as he walks, some T-shirts and shorts, so now he can not only be cool, but also feel cool. LOL!! The afternoon was cool. Last week a colleague of mine called me with the news that I would receive an award from The Character and Ethics Project in Glendale. She had nominated me because of the fundraiser that I had put together and in which I had raised $6,000 for my colleague Jeff who on the same day was downsized and lost his home in the wildfires, 2 years ago. Then, this fall, I did a "doggie blanket project" following an email that I received from my friend Melissa. She had started collecting blankets for dogs in shelthers and asked for donations, so I put the word out on campus and collected over 200 blankets (which was sometimes challenging given the fact that I was very pregnant at the time). The ceremony was great and a bit more impressive than I expected. I ended up receiving 7 award certificates:
* Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition
* Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate
* County of Los Angeles Commendation
* City of Glendale Commendation
* Certificate of Recognition from the Glendale Unified School District
* Certificate of Recognition and Appreciation from the Glendale Fire Department
* Certificate of Recognition from The Character and Ethics Project

This morning, I took the boys out and spent the morning with Nina. It was so nice to spend the morning catching up and spending some time out of the house, yet relaxing. We sat out on the deck and Kai could just wander around, without being able to get into too much, so it was very enjoyable and relaxing and nice to be able to catch up.

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March 15, 2010

Ryder graduated from size 1 to size 2 diapers today. It is amazing how fast he ran out of room on the size 1 and I am happy that I had decided to only buy 1 box of that size. I remember that they closed all the way to the Sesame Street characters in the center. Now they hardly close anymore...what's happening? It's almost as if my baby is growing fast....LOL!!

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March 14, 2010

The last few days have been absolutely brutal: for 2 days in a row Ryder did not nap, aside from a 20-minute, a 4-minute and a 3-minute nap yesterday. The poor kid is completely exhausted and overtired. At night he is okay (not great), but during the day it is worst... At first, it seemed like he didn't want to be swaddled anymore: he would squirm, arch his back, yank his legs and arms in order to get out and eventually 'Houdini' himself out of his swaddle. By that point he would be completely awake and the lack of control over his arms and legs would prevent him from even relaxing, let alone falling asleep. I tried keeping his arms out of the swaddle, shush him, rock him, walk with him, bounce on the exercise ball, nothing seemed to work. Very frustrating. Then, I thought, I have the opposite of Kai on my hands here: the kid who does not nap...sigh...

Yesterday, it all came to a climax: after spending 2 hours, trying to help him fall asleep (and trust me, I tried everything), I was exhausted and just had to pass him over to David so that I could go outside and have a good cry. I was absolutely besides myself and had no idea how to calm or soothe him and resulting from that felt like the worst mommy ever.

Tomorrow we're going to the pediatrician's, hopefully we'll get somewhat wiser - I am 99.9% sure tha it is reflux and hope that the doc will prescribe an acid blocker to make things a bit more do-able (for all of us).

Tonight was Kai's last night in his 'old' room. Quite honestly, I am a bit sad that he is moving out of it. It feels like yet another chapter has come to an end and my little boy is growing up. It's all going so incredibly fast, I sometimes feel I can hardly keep up. We filmed the bedtime routine and both David and I were sad to think that this was the last night. I immediately suggested we could wait a bit longer. I guess subconscious I am trying to hold on to Kai being a little boy. And though he is growing up, he will always be my big little boy. Sigh...

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March 10, 2010

I think we have entered the "terrible two's" era. Oh goodness... For days Kai has been refusing to eat lunch and the only place where 2 bites of food go is in his cheek, where he stores it sometimes for hours without swallowing. If "Mr.-I-want-it-now" doesn't get his way right away or not at all, it's the end of the world (for him). I think I might follow in Amy's footsteps and do some reading up on ideas on how to go about disciplining a young toddler as I may need to get inspired...

On another note, I took the boys to the zoo today. Aside from the birthday party and a few grocery trips, this is what I considered Ryder's first real outing. And it was fun. The weather was beautiful, the perfect morning to spend at the zoo. We met Amy & Melia at the entrance and went straight to the play ground where Kai and Melia had a chance to run wild before the place got taken over by elementary school kids. We went to the monkeys, saw the giraffes and zebras and Kai and Melia had a great time running around. Enough for a good nap one would think...WRONG!!!! A little over an hour, that's all that Kai got in. Ryder on the other hand, hardly napped at all. I sooooo hope for a good night's sleep tonight.

Speaking of which, I am going to bed. Going to give Ryder his late-evening-snack and off to dream land I go. Ha, I received an email from a mommy friend of mine who mentioned that she was looking forward to a 6-hour stretch of sleep (she has a newborn as well). Gosh, I hardly remember what that is like, but it sure sounds wonderful. I cannot wait to have one of those, although at the moment that is not more than a vague memory in a past, long, long ago.....

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March 9, 2010

Am I happy this day is over or what... It all started last night when Ryder decided to nurse for about 3 hours, after which it was a challenge to get him to fall asleep. When that was finally accomplished and I was ready to call it a night myself, I tripped over the cord of the baby monitor, it fell and broke. Long story short, we had to get a new one today ($$) :-(

The night was filled with going between nursing Ryder, changing his diaper, re-swaddling him (he has managed the art of escaping out of his swaddling blanket), getting him to calm down and fall asleep again and short 20-minute sessions of sleeping myself. He was up every 1-1/2 to 2 hours so it doesn't take any skills in math to figure out that there wasn't much sleep for mommy last night. This morning at 6:30am both boys (the kids, not David) decided to wake up for the day. David generously took both of them so I could get at least 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep. That turned into 2-1/2 hours - heavenly!! (I cannot believe I find 2-1/2 hours of sleep heavenly these days, but they truly are!!)

The plan for this morning was for me to take the boys out to stop by our Dr.'s office with a few 'Thank you' gifts. I had bought a nice bottle of Scotch for my Doctor (who, I was told, enjoys that with his sailing friends) and on my way there I stopped at Porto's to pick up a box of pastries for the staff. Ryder hates being put in the car seat, so every car ride starts out with him screaming from the top of his lungs. By the time I hit the freeway, or exceed 30mph, he calms down. When we arrived at the doctor's office and Dr. Pearson stepped around the corner in his scrubs, Kai completely freaked out. Freaked out as in "FREAKED OUT". He completely lost it and probably thought that we were there for him to see the doctor. Poor kid.

On the way back, Ryder once again started crying and when Kai had an "itch" in his neck and I couldn't reach it on time from the driver's seat, also he broke down and started crying. There I was, driving down the road with 2 screaming kids in the backseat. Oh, what a joy. I was about to call both David and my best friend, put them on speaker phone and tell them: "Hey, listen to how my morning is going! Hope you're having a better one".

When Kai was down for a nap, David generously offered to go to Babies R Us to get the new baby monitor & camera combination. It took me 1-1/2 hour to both nurse and soothe Ryder to sleep. After that, I was able to take a nap, which was lovely. I woke up at 5pm, woke Kai up who is now absolutely addicted to the "Cars" movie and wanted to watch it (AGAIN!). I nursed Ryder, gave him a bath while David made dinner (I LOVE my husband) and while we had dinner Ryder was actually asleep. I just nursed him again after which he went straight back to sleep. At the moment he is stirring, but I am hoping that soon (as in the next 15 minutes) I will be able to join him as I desperately need some zzzzz's.

On that note, I am signing off. Let's hope tomorrow is a bit 'happier'. I'm taking the boys to the zoo where I am meeting Amy & Melia. Here's to a good time at the zoo!!

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March 8, 2010

Ryder is 5 weeks:
Weight: 13 lbs. 3.5 oz.
Length: 23"

Ryder is 5 weeks today. The time goes by so fast, even with sleep deprivation. Last night I decided to try what had worked with Kai as well: tanking the baby up before going down for the night. Though he gladly took the milk (although at 11pm he was so out, it was hard to get him to open his mouth) this first night of experimenting was still interrupted every 2 hours for a demand for milk.

This morning marked the first morning of being on our own and quite honestly it went pretty smoothly, although I am sure that David will disagree and experienced it as a 'rough' morning (both kids woke up at 7am). I took both Kai and Ryder to the pediatrician's office as Kai was due for his H1N1 booster. Ryder slept through the entire experience, but Kai on the other hand got terrified. This was the first time I saw him so scared and my heart just broke for him. As soon as we walked into the waiting room, he turned red and started quietly saying "Mommy?" "Mommy?" As we sat down he cuddled up with me and buried his face in my lap where he devoured his carton of raisins. He never cuddles or crawls up against us, but this time he did. Despite the crying, he did very well and walked away without being pinched as he got the nasal spray. When we got back to the car and I lifted him in before I put Ryder in the car, he freaked out as hethought I had forgotten Ryder and he started crying, while calling for 'Baby Whi-no'. It was very sweet to see him so concerned for his little brother, but at the same time I felt so incredibly sorry for him for going through such a rough time this morning.

When we got home, and we were playing with his trains, I noticed that he had started drooling and I wonder if we're entering 2-year molar territory. I tried looking in his mouth, but he seriously does not want me anywhere near his teeth, so considering the sharpness of his little pearly whites, I decided to back off and leave those molars for what they are. I guess he'll let me know when they start bothering him.

For the first time, I started putting Ryder down in our bedroom for naps. Since Kai is still in the nursery, I can't put him down in his new room yet, so my priority this week is to get Kai's room ready, so I can move him to his "big boy room", which will then allow me to get Ryder into the nursery for naps. At night he still sleeps in the co-sleeper in our room and he will continue to sleep there until he is 3-4 months, but I would love for him to take his naps in the nursery. It took a few times of going back and soothing him before he finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap which usually is the long one), but he got there eventually. I hope that this is the beginning of him following Kai in becoming a good and independent sleeper. Fingers crossed.

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March 7, 2010

Yesterday was nice: got to go out and spend some girly time with Amy. Well, it was chatting while enjoying Starbucks ;-)

Today is work, despite it being Sunday. Lynn left this morning and I am busy trying to tidy and clean the house. Over the past couple of days we’ve discovered several fixtures leaking in the house: the bathroom faucet, the pipe to the toilet and the faucet in the master shower. David went down the plumping path this morning in order to fix all three. The toilet has been fixed, the faucet in the guest bathroom needs replacement and the faucet in the shower....well, let’s say that the bathroom got hosed down with water (including the ceiling, where now the paint has started bubbling) after David fixed it and turned the water back on....one of the parts actually split in 2 when the pressure got back on and water was going everywhere through the bathroom. A mopping spree and an angry husband later I was able to attend to my 2-year old toddler who has decided that lunch is really not for him. Oh my...

Now that the aforementioned husband is out buying parts to fix the shower, Kai is in bed with no lunch in his tummy (asleep luckily), and Ryder is asleep in the co-sleeper I have a few minutes to clean. And what do I do?? I sit down and write. Oh well, it won’t be much longer.

The good thing is that last night Ryder only woke up once. Oh joy!! (that’s sincere, not sarcasm) However, he was awake when he woke up, so it took a bit longer to get him back to sleep. We’ll see how tonight is going. I am going to seriously tank him up before bedtime, in the hopes to get him to continue this pattern of sleeping longer stretches. It’s good for both mama and baby. We’ll see how it goes.

Back to cleaning and tidying now.

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March 4, 2010

Yesterday was a bittersweet day: the most wonderful thing was that Ryder for the first time "talked" to me - I was letting him move around a bit on the changing pad and as I was leaning over him, talking to him, he looked me in the eyes and responded with "Aaahhhhh". It was the sweetest thing and brought tears in my eyes. He did it twice more over the day, what an amazing thing!!!

David and his dad were out for the evening, so I was challenged with bathing Kai while getting through the witching hours with Ryder (at the same time). I had gotten Ryder to fall asleep and put him in Kai's crib, so I could keep an eye on him, while reading to Kai. Smart right?? Yeah, only he woke up and started screaming. Oh....and didn't stop for several hours....(minor detail). Picture this: me sitting in a bean bag, Ryder on one knee, screaming his lungs out, inconsolable and Kai on the other knee, stoically drinking his milk, not bothered by the whaling little brother. Luckily he didn't insist on reading a story as that would have been yet another challenge, but he went down easily and quickly. Mommy spent the rest of the evening nursing Ryder...yes, you got that right...: the ENTIRE evening!!!! You've got to be kiddin' me!!!! No, no jokes here, serious as could be: for 20 minutes I had a break during which I called Amy, but the rest of the evening I had a baby attached to my boob and eventually to a bottle as the boobies were depleted. He must have drunk a good 12 oz. last night.

This morning I decided to weigh Ryder. Imagine my amazement when I discovered that over the past 3 days he had gained 9 oz.!!!! I guess after last night I did expect some weight gain, but 9 oz. in 3 days!!! The average is 0.5 oz./day, this is 6 times as much! At this point I have no idea if I can keep up with his appetite. I am afraid that at some point I'll have to start supplementing as he simply eats more than I can make. At this rate that's inevitable, but maybe he is still going through a growth spurt, in which case, things should be calming down again next week some time. I guess we'll see.

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March 1, 2010

Oh, how I love that baby smell. I wish there was a way to bottle it as I just could hang with my nose in that bottle all day long. Nothing smells better than babies – I don’t know what it is, but it’s true. It sometimes makes me sad though when I realize that this is “it” for us (most likely). That these days of having a newborn, once behind us, will never return. I just nursed Ryder and he fell asleep in my arms. It was the most wonderful thing in the world. I could just sit on the sofa for hours, holding him against me, feeling his warmth, smelling his head and feeling the peace and calm that he exudes. There is nothing more beautiful than that. No matter how much they cry, moments like these make up for it and make you forget the sleep deprivation, late night feedings, hours of rocking and getting them to fall asleep, etc. There is truly nothing better than being a mom.

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March 1, 2010

Ryder is 1 month:
Weight: 12 lbs. 0.5 oz.
Length: 22 1/4"

Opa and Oma left yesterday. They made it home safely, but there was an emptiness this morning that was hard to fill: when I went to get Kai out of bed, the first ones he asked for were “Opa & Oma”. It was challenging to explain to him that they had gone home, but that we would see them soon on the TV. It broke my heart to see him not understanding where they were. After all, they had been with us for 6 weeks – an eternity to a 2-year old and all of a sudden they were gone. They weren’t there to have breakfast with, or to get cheese from. He was a bit thrown off and it made me sad to see him that way. Luckily we had a chance to Skype before breakfast was over and it was great to see his face light up when he saw them on the computer. Thank heavens for new technology.

Today is Ryder’s 1-month birthday. We weighed him on the scale that we borrowed from my friend Emily: 12 lbs. 1/2 oz. It was a bit less than I expected as he weighed 12 lbs. last week at the pediatrician’s, but then again, different scales -> different readings. Either way, the kids is big and heavy and growing fast. He measured 22 1/4” long, but I will re-measure him tomorrow, just to see if I did it right. It’s challenging to measure a squirming 1-month old. At the ripe old age of 1 month old, Ryder wore his first 6-month sleeper last night. It’s a bit big, but by no means is he swimming out of it and it’s a good size sleeper for him to wear already. Go figure...

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February 27, 2010

We had the first Beeler Brothers’ Birthday Bash today and it was fun. Contrary to popular belief, I was delighted that it rained today: I had rented The Playroom in Sherman Oaks for the morning and didn’t want David to remind me that we could have had the party in our backyard and that therefore it was wasted $$. With the rain, having the party in our backyard would have been disastrous (even with floaties for the kids), so having an indoor playroom reserved was a GOOD thing. Unfortunately, many of Kai’s friends had come down with colds, so the number of people who attended was somewhat smaller than expected – a shame, but we had fun nevertheless. Kai had a great time, Ryder got lots of attention and to my surprise, Kai LOVED being sung for. He was all smiles when we sang “Happy Birthday” as he really got that it was for him. He loved being the center of attention...

He slept like a log in the afternoon and the gifties are going to carry us well into next week as he only had eyes for the Thomas and Friends Farewell at the Docks set that he had gotten from Opa & Oma. It’s great when birthday gifts (just like Christmas gifts this past Christmas) make for a week of surprises. Next year, however, I expect it to be different...

It was great that both Opa & Oma and Grandpa & Mama-Ni were able to be here for the celebration. It’s a good thing after all that both boys have their birthdays so close together. At first, I wasn’t crazy about the thought, but in retrospect it’s actually awesome.

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February 26, 2010

Growth spurt: A period of rapid Growth.

Guess what...we’re in one!!! Smack in the middle of one!!! And though it’s great for Ryder, it’s killin’ mama!!! It all started yesterday. I don’t know if the arrival of my in-laws had anything to do with it, but fact is that they arrived yesterday and that Ryder started cluster feeding. Out the window went the 3-hour routine we had established over the past few weeks and in came the demand for the ‘White Gold’ every couple of hours. I lost count of exactly how many times I nursed him last night, but I know that I couldn’t have counted it on one hand :-S Between nursing pretty much every hour and a half, Kai waking up and not being able to find Elmo, wetting his bed and Ryder making up for a few days of constipation, it felt as if I was up pretty much the entire night and this morning my body was just beat.

BUT...he sure is cute and absolutely freakin’ adorable, so that all makes up for everything.

This morning I dropped off all the table ware for the party for tomorrow at The Playroom, I did some grocery shopping and went to Costco where I did more shopping that I have done in a very, very, very long time. I almost needed a 2nd shopping cart and hauling everything into the car was enough exercise for me to not feel guilty for skipping the gym tomorrow (as it is party day and I just won’t make it).

Today is Oma’s birthday, so as I am writing this, all of the grandparents are enjoying a massage at the Foot Inspiration. Sigh...I would give a lot for a massage right now...oh well, my time will come. Tonight we’re going out for dinner. Kai will stay home and hang with our neighbor Julie, while Ryder will join us to the Japanese restaurant. I just hope that I will be able to keep up with his appetite.

Well, while I have the time, I am going to sit down and catch up on some American Idol. Much deserved I would think.

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February 23, 2010

I don't want to jinx things, but it seems as if the coughing and sneezing is getting a bit better for Ryder. Maybe it was a cold and he is getting over it? On a different note though, it's been 4 days since he has had a 'movement' and this is starting to concern me. I know that at this point it seems as if every day there is something new that concerns or worries me, but oh well, what can I say other than "I'm a mom"? In addition to that, I am getting close to stating that Ryder is not a very happy baby. Maybe it has to do with things being backed up in his intestines (which I am sure ain't helping), but it is getting difficult to deal with when 90% of the time that he is awake, he spends crying. I put in another call to our pediatrician and am waiting to hear back from them. Hopefully they'll be able to shed a light on the situation.

We're going out to join the Neills for dinner tonight. I am looking forward to it, yet I am a bit concerned about the kids (there I go again - I should stop being so concerned....!!!) and how they will do. Luckily there will be enough adults present among which we can pass them around ;-) This reminds me, I should probably hop soon and get ready while both boys are asleep. Still need to change, pack bags, etc. Yeah, packing a diaper bag for both kids is like preparing to go on a overnight trip these days, but also that I guess will require some getting used to. On that note, I am signing off. I would really like to get this website up and going as soon as possible. I think I am close, so let me get cracking on that.

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February 22, 2010

I seriously wonder what the coughing and sneezing is about with Ryder. It very much sounds like a cold, but then he only coughs and sneezes right after eating and occasionally at another time, but mostly right after eating. Is it a cold and the mucus thickens resulting from the milk, or is it indeed the reflux? I have no idea, but I sincerely hope that either this cold will be gone in a few weeks, or his reflux will have gotten better.

This morning I took both boys to Target for a shopping run.  It all went well, but with Ryder in the car seat on top of the shopping cart and with Kai insisting on sitting in the shopping cart, it didn’t leave me with much room to put my groceries.  Kai was a great help and enjoyed putting the groceries on the belt at the checkout.  Ryder slept through the whole experience and decided to wake up right as we got home.  These days he really either sleeps, eats or cries.  I feel so sorry for him, as he really doesn’t seem very happy when he is awake.  Speaking of “awake”: it’s great to see him be awake more these days.  I love looking in his eyes and seeing him look around in amazement.  He seems to really start to recognize me and it’s just wonderful to look into those beautiful blue/grey eyes, to connect with him.  It’s magical, the best thing ever.  

Yesterday was the day that Ryder got his first bath.  I vividly remember Kai’s protest, voicing his dislike of the “bath concept” when he got his first bath, sometime 2 years ago. Now he has turned into a water baby and loves to be in the water.  Ryder, on the other hand, was a bit upset at first, but quickly quieted down as he sank into the warm water with his bottom, sitting in his little “hammock” in his baby bathtub.  He really seemed to enjoy the experience and quite honestly, I am looking forward to the next time he gets to go “splash splash”.  This first bath was a whole family experience in that Opa and Oma were present and Kai made sure to give Ryder kisses on his head as he was taking this big step in his young life.

Kai seems to become more and more fond of Ryder. This afternoon, when he woke up and I entered his room, the first thing he asked for was “Baby Why-non”.  Gosh that was so adorable.  That was the way straight to my heart.

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February 21, 2010

Ryder has reflux.  Scary cough and nasal congestion right after nursing made me initially think that he might have milk allergies.  I took him in to see Dr. Bloom (our pediatrician) on Friday and luckily she doesn’t think it has anything to do with allergies.  In the 5 days since his 2-week checkup on Monday, he had gained 2 oz. per day and he now weighed in at 12 lbs.  He obviously is getting enough nutrition in.  What we think is that he just has a bigger appetite than his stomach can deal with.  He’ll keep drinking as he is still hungry (or to satisfy his sucking reflex, I don’t know), which then causes his stomach to get too full.  His bodily reflex is to bring the milk back up and though that doesn’t always happen, his airways constrict thinking that fluids might be coming down as a result, which then causes him to start coughing and turning red.  Though it still is a scary experience, now that I know what it is, I am a bit calmer about it.  The downside is though that if he’s not sleeping or eating, he usually is upset and crying.  I continue to tell myself that also this will pass as it is a phase that he has to go through.  As soon as his stomach increases in size this will get better.  All will be different in a month from now.

David and I were able to go on a date last night.  We went out for dinner and had delicious sushi at a local Japanese restaurant that I had discovered right before I turned up pregnant with Ryder.  We had a blast, it was so much fun to be out on a date together without the kids there.  All in all it made for a fantastic Saturday.  In the morning I had gone out to work out (after getting the “okay” from my doc).  I remember with Kai going back to the gym at 3 weeks post partum and this time around ain’t any different.  I LOVED my work out and cannot wait for Tuesday to come around to go again.  It felt so good.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed it until I was back working those muscles again.  Then, on top of that, David suggested I call Amy to see if Danny was around to look after Melia during nap time so that Amy and I could go out for a coffee.  It was awesome to have some girlfriend time without the distraction of the kids and to really have some one-on-one quality time.  It made my day.  Finally, on top of everything, I decided to be bold and tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans...they fit!!!!!  Woohaaaaaa!!!!!!  Happy days!!!!!  Didn’t have enough courage to go stand on the scale, but hey, I don’t believe one should push their luck on a day like yesterday.

Then today, we all went out as a family.  Opa and oma joined us at the playground where Kai had a chance to run around, get dirty and run free.  He loved it. Ryder slept through most of the morning, but took a break from his busy schedule to to nurse.  On the way back we stopped at Porto’s in Burbank and enjoyed a delicious lunch together.  We just got home.  David is out on the sofa, Ryder is still in his car seat and Kai is out in his bed (I hope).  I am sitting here updating the website and my journal, hoping to get it all done sooner rather than later.

We have a busy week ahead of us: Lynn & Nasrin are coming in on Thursday, Oma’s birthday is on Friday, the kids’ party is on Saturday, Oma & Opa leave on Sunday.  Busy, busy, busy...ohoh, that puts the Thomas & Friends song in my mind...sigh...  On that note, let me hop.  Ryder needs to nurse and I need to pump off some of the “golden liquid” to avoid drowning him in milk.  Charming note to end this story on...I know...oh well, life of a mom to two boys...

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February 16, 2010

I took Ryder to the pediatrician yesterday for his 2-week check up.  Over the past few days he had become very fussy while nursing, following in Kai’s footsteps.  Breastfeeding is taking me back to 2 years ago when Kai was pulling and yanking, getting frustrated for whatever reason, resulting in tears on my part.  Luckily things aren’t that bad this time around, though Ryder is becoming a similarly aggressive eater.  After a few vomiting sessions and frequent spit up, I started getting concerned about his intake: was he getting enough in, was he gaining enough weight?  Well, that question got answered yesterday.  Apparently, newborns this age are supposed to gain 1/2 oz. per day.  Over the past 10 days, Ryder had gained a whopping 16 oz. (3 times the required amount!!) weighing in at 11 lbs. 6 oz.  Whereas that makes for a more peaceful mommy, it doesn’t calm him down at the breast, but knowing that he gets enough nutrition in is just wonderful to know.  The doctor contributed his fussiness to just a phase and honestly, I am a lot less worried about it today.  (Surprisingly Ryder is a lot calmer as well).  We started him on Probiotics yesterday, so I hope that that may make a difference over the next few weeks as well.

Kai had his first MAJOR meltdown this afternoon at lunch.  I had taken the boys out this morning to do some shopping and it went well.  When we got home, Kai refused to eat his lunch, and throw an absolute fit in his booster seat.  The luncheon meat that he was asking more off at the deli store, was just not happening on his sandwich for lunch.  Logic?  I don’t get it, but I seriously hope that this is not some kind of precursor to the whole “Terrible Two’s” people keep talking about.  He ended up with a time-out, after which all he wanted was a nap.  He ended up going to bed without having had lunch, banana or milk.  I guess he’ll eat well tonight :-S

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February, 2010

On February 3, 2010 Ryder and I returned home from the hospital. It was nice to come home and start life as a family of four. Opa and Oma had decorated the living room with balloons, baby boy blue decorations, etc., lovely. Right out the gate, Kai was pretty indifferent about the arrival of Ryder. I guess considering the alternatives, 'indifferent' is the perfect way to be for him these days. As all newborns do, Ryder tends to sleep a lot, but especially in the beginning, it was like I was getting (once again) a crash course in the language of 'baby cries' as during those first days it was hard to decipher what each cry meant. One would think that after having had one baby, one would be familiar with the cries a baby lets out, yet this time around it almost felt like I had to re-learn the whole thing again. Other than that, Ryder is a sweet baby, easy going, no problems at all.

Breast feeding is going well. I ended up taking a few Fenugreek supplements just to up the production a bit as it seems like Ryder is following in Kai's footsteps of being a big eater, difficult to satisfy. Being short on milk these days is a frustration I would like to avoid at all cost.

At his first pediatrician's visit on February 5, Ryder got his Hep. A vaccination. He had dropped in weight a bit, but not much, to 10 lbs. 6 oz. He had grown 1/2" and his head had gotten bigger as well. He had started his race to catch up with Kai and he was going at it full force.

On Wednesday February 10, Ryder started acting strangely when reaching the hind milk while nursing. It was almost like he didn't like to work for his milk, OR it was because of the stop-'n-go flow of the milk, I don't know. It was hard to say whether he was done and wanted the boob to go away, or if he wanted more and couldn't find the boob. There is a significant difference and it seemed like which ever one I went for, it always seemed to be the wrong choice.

Ryder is a funny opposite of Kai in that he LOVES being wrapped up in blankets and whatnot.  He is a lucky boy to be born in Southern California as he really hates to be cold at all times. Being wrapped up in a blanket is his favorite place to be and calms him down easily.  He loves to cuddle, fall asleep on my chest and be close up against me.  The complete opposite of Kai who never really cared for cuddling and laying up against us.  It’s a wonderful feeling to feel a baby fall asleep on your chest, with their head under your chin, I just LOVE it..

The week after he was born, my hormones started kicking in and the post partum blues started.  Though they don’t seem to be as strong as 2 years ago with Kai, they are still pretty difficult and complicated at times.  One day I will be in a good, calm and patient mood, while other days nobody seems to be able to do anything right.  At times I find it hard to be patient with both kids, especially when Ryder is crying and Kai continuously calls for my attention with “Mommy, mommy, mommy, moooooommmmmmmyyyyyyy!!!!”  Sometimes I wish I was graced with a bit more patience, which would come in very handy at moments like that, but I guess this is my children’s way of being my teachers....

When I was still in the hospital, David and I talked about the experience of how it is, having 2 children now.  It’s funny and though to many this may not make sense, I personally don’t consider us a couple that has 2 kids.  We went from “having 1 son” to “being a family of 4”.  Not to “having 2 kids”, but to “being a family of 4”.  There is a difference there for me and it is a significant one.  I love it.

Kai is doing well.  With his birthday being 4 days after Ryder’s arrival, we didn’t really celebrate it.  He received  a lot of birthday wishes from all his friends and their mommies on Facebook, wishing him a great day and hoping that he would be spoiled.  He didn’t....  It was a rainy day, so giving him the tricycle that we had bought for him wasn’t a great idea as he wouldn’t be able to try it out.  His birthday party will be on the 27th of this month for all his friends and our friends.  We’re celebrating it at The Playroom in Sherman Oaks, it promises to be a fun party with over 50 guests.  He is starting to enjoy opening gifts though, so the party and the aftermath at home should be fun.

As I said, he is a bit indifferent about Ryder, but considering the other 2 alternatives, I think “indifferent” is good.  He is starting to warm up a bit though.  On February 10 he actually went as far as wanting to give Ryder the bottle.  I totally expected him to put the bottle in his own mouth and was surprised when he passed it on to Ryder, trying to feed him.  Very sweet and touching.  He is also talking a lot more these days.  Over the past several weeks his vocabulary has increased with leaps and bounds and he really is in the stage of copying everything that he hears.  It’s great.  We’ve been working hard on his manners: “please” is a concept he quickly got as he realized that it gets him what he wants faster.  “Thank You” happens on demand when I ask him to say “Thank you _____” he will quickly repeat it and the loves the fuss we make once he does so.

He is just adorable these days, giving hugs and kisses, flirting left and right and just being incredibly sweet.  How blessed am I to have 2 awesome little boys and to call myself “mommy to two boys”. 

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