Five Weeks Old: He Smiles

But only in the mornings and mostly for Owen 

*love*

Gillen: Three Weeks Old

Gillen's First Sabbath

 Big Brother walked across the street with Daddy to buy a challah for Gil's first Shabbat

Gillen's Newborn Visit

Because we left the hospital after 24 hours, our pediatrician wanted to see Gillen in the office two days later just to check on him. Everything checked out beautifully - his length was still 21 inches and he weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. No bilirubin concerns at all.

Yep. Our boy was back to birth weight within 72 hours! YAY MAMA MILK!!

Our pediatrician said she usually likes to see newborns back in 2 weeks for a weight check but because he was already back to birth weight, she'll see us at his 1 month visit.

The rest of the appointment was spent talking about how Owen is adjusting to the new baby. He's been very emotional and acting out. His eating and sleeping are a little wonky and you can tell there is a lot going on in his little mind. She said it takes about six weeks for toddlers to get over the newness of it all and after that point they usually don't harbor memories of how it used to be.

Let's hope she's right....

24 Hours Later: Going Home

Tuesday both my OB and our pediatrician released us to go home. We had to stay until the 24 hour mark for Gil's newborn screen and bilirubin test.

His bilirubin was 6 (less than half of what Owen's was!) so there were no concerns there and he had only lost a tiny bit of weight down to 7 lbs 14 oz. Having a baby latch and eat right away did wonders for us this time around.

Jeremy and I were bored in the hospital and anxious to get home to Owen so we were very happy to leave late afternoon.

12 Hours Later: Gillen Meets His Big Brother

Seeing my firstborn looking so big, brought me to tears. 

Owen stayed overnight with our neighbors and they helped him make Gillen a card from his big brother. Owen also brought him a monkey (Gillen smiled ;))

Sweet red-headed boy is eating like a champ.
God couldn't have sent a more perfect match for our little family.

Happy Birthday, Baby Brother!

Gillen Azar

8 lbs 3 oz - 21 inches

August 27, 2012

2:10pm

38 Weeks Pregnant: Spoiling My Firstborn

This week has been nothing but spoiling for Mr. Owen. We're getting so close to Baby Brother and I want nothing more than to embrace the fact that I'm on my feet and spending some warm summer days with my favorite guy.

This week:

Monday: Library, Post Office (Owen's FAVORITE) and Target (for popcorn and a cold)
Tuesday: Met up with playgroup at the park!
Wednesday: Pool time with Mama
Thursday: Woke up early to go to the OB and then off for chocolate chip bagels with my main squeeze. Our friends called to ask us to the zoo and since the doctor declared me closed and commented, "I don't think you're having a baby in the next few days..."

We were off to the zoo!!

 Ice cream for lunch? WHY NOT!

 Pennies in the fountain? WHY NOT!

 Ducky Whistle at the Park? WHY NOT!

 Fun in the pool? WHY NOT!

chocolate chip bagels for breakfast? WHY NOT!

38.5 Weeks pregnant Mama at the ZOO?

WHY NOT!!

Milestone: Forward Facing

Owen is officially a big boy now that we've turned his seat forward facing and installed Baby Brother's car seat. It's a tight fit in the back of our little Mazda but Owen is thrilled with his new perspective.

As we were driving on Pitt campus the other day we were at a stop light and Owen said, "Look Mama! A pretzel shop! I want to eat there."

Then later I heard him in the back seat, "15, 16, 17, 18.."

What are you doing Mr. O?

"I'm counting CARS!"

A Sunday Afternoon Off

Jeremy is on call all next weekend so today he took Owen for the afternoon so that I could run some errands. I've been finalizing plans for Baby Brother's Bris/naming and still had some stuff to pick up. I grabbed a frozen lemonade from McDonalds which has been an constant craving for me this pregnancy. A pregnancy massage just wasn't in our budget this time around but I did treat myself to a pedicure which was awesome. I even sat there an extra long time to let my toes dry so I could take advantage of the vibrating chair :)

 How far along? One day shy of 38 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: +16 lbs

Maternity clothes? Most of my maternity shirts don't fit over my belly anymore!

Stretch marks? No but as of yesterday I have lots of swelling in my feet/hands. It's so nice to just wear flip flops!

Sleep: Nope. Over the last two days Baby Brother had descended upon my bladder and I'm up every 1.5 hrs to pee. That coupled with the insomnia I've had all third trimester (I can't get myself to sleep until after 2am) makes for a rough night. I'm really thankful that Owen sleeps in until 9am!

Best moment this week: Owen constantly talks about his "baby budder" and I cannot wait until these two meet each other. Seeing Jeremy become a Daddy again is amazing enough, but watching Owen as a Big Brother might just make my heart explode all over the universe.

Food cravings: My food cravings have been much more limited this pregnancy but in my first trimester it was fried chicken. Second/Third has been cherry dipped cones from Dairy Queen, frozen strawberry lemonade from McDonalds, Qdoba chips and salsa, Superman ice cream, marshmellows and most recently... WAFFLES.

Belly Button in or out? I'm afraid my belly button cannot be considered "in" any longer... yikes!

What I miss: Owen has definitely picked up on the fact that I'm physically limited. He wants to be carried, and snuggled and rocked. He wants me to rough-house with him and play trains on the floor. Thankfully Jeremy is being extra hands-on with Owen when he's home and we've taken to lots of couch snuggles while reading library books which O loves. We used to dance around his room together before bed time, me swaying with him and singing a song I made up called "dancin' with your Mama" -- I still sing the song, but can no longer dance while holding him.

I'm by no means wishing this baby out, but I cannot wait to dance with Mr. Owen again. We both miss it terribly.

What I am looking forward to: Being surrounded by THREE BOYS that I absolutely adore and that adore me. Indulgent? Yep. I love me some boys!

Weekly Wisdom: SO MANY PEOPLE, strangers, come up to me and ask when I'm due, if I'm due soon, what I'm having, if I'm hot. Lots of other mothers smile lovingly at me like, "I remember those days of waddling through the parking lot." Random strangers wish me luck and so many of my friends have called to let me know they are thinking of us.

It all makes me so happy, thankful and in awe of my body for doing this amazing thing. I look at Owen and I cannot believe he was once a tiny baby. He is a brilliant, happy wonderful boy and I am so proud to be his Mama. I cannot imagine repeating this joy with another unique soul that will show us his individuality and look up to his big brother unconditionally.

My heart is full.

37.5 weeks pregnant (Note: Still PREGNANT!)

Went to the doctor today and she said I am not dilated but completely thinned and she could feel his head pushing down. Baby Brother had been a little less active the last few days and when they listened to his heartbeat on the doppler it was 120 (down from the 145-165 it normally is) and while it was still in the normal range they wanted me to sit on the monitors for a Non-stress test for 30 minutes following my appointment. Of course my trusty side kick was there too waiting oh so patiently for the two of us to get bagels after my appointment ;)

Everything came back normal and we ended the appointment with this unfamiliar phrase...

 "All we're waiting for now is for you to go into labor!"

It's been amazingly different this time around. I'm more active, I have a beautiful toddler to take care of and I'm even still taking my prenatal yoga classes. At the beginning of my third trimester I had a few rough weeks with some anxiety that came flooding back. I felt like such a failure in my third trimester with Owen - even though I succeeded in carrying him to term. Lots of things surrounding bed rest/birth/postpartum were hard on me and in retrospect could have been handled very differently.

This time, if I wanted to feel strong and confident, I needed to change my own mind.

I credit much of this to the doctor's managing me. They never once made me feel like I couldn't do this. Sure, I contracted A LOT but they let me stay on my feet and kept me calm. I think the p17 shots worked wonders for me in terms of cervical length. And we did it.

We are so incredibly excited to meet this little guy. We continue to pray that he is born strong and healthy. We hope that Owen adjusts well to having to share my attention and that we can all eventually get some sleep :)