Hank's 6 week photo

So he's actually 6 weeks and 1 day, but I figure that's close enough.

It's not the most flattering picture of him since he's making a funny face, but it's a close-up and he's actually wearing clothes!! Since he's usually in the ring sling and it's usually pretty hot outside, I rarely put clothes on the little guy. I figured I'd document this rare clothes-wearing event.

Johnny's 18-month doctor visit

This was supposed to be Johnny's 18 month checkup, but our new pediatrician is quite popular, so we didn't get in to see him until one and a half months after Johnny's 18 month mark. It's worth it, though, because I really like this doctor.

Overall, Johnny is very healthy and doesn't have autism, according to the form I filled out. He took his shot like a champ and then was mystified by the sucker he was given afterward. He kept trying to put the stick part of the sucker into his mouth instead of the candy part. I guess that's a good thing though. The only bad part was the doctor's disappointment over Johnny still being on a bottle. Remember when I tried to take him off of it? Yeah, that didn't happen. My tired pregnant self couldn't handle not getting a nap since Johnny would scream the entire time he should have been napping... so I just kept him on it. Now it looks like we have to get rid of it for real. *sigh* He's gone to bed without a bottle successfully the last couple of nights, and I'll stop the bottle at nap time after today. Definitely not looking forward to that.

So here are the stats:
Height: 34" - 86th percentile
Weight: 28 lbs 8 oz - 75th percentile
Head circumference: 19.76" - 94th percentile

Since he's doing so well weight and height-wise, the doctor said to start him on 2% milk instead of whole milk. Yay Johnny!

Hank is 6 weeks old!

I definitely can't keep up weekly updates on Hank (so don't expect any more) but this one felt like a milestone. By the time Johnny was born, I had read every baby book known to man. (<-- That's an exaggeration, but it certainly felt like it.) One thing these books all said is that fussiness and crying will peak at 6 weeks and then get better. So if you can make it through the first six weeks, you'll be fine.

I spent the first six weeks of Johnny's life willing them to go faster and wanting to attack people's throats Roadhouse-style when they would say "Cherish every moment because it goes so fast!!"

I don't think Johnny was particularly difficult (well, he did hate sleeping), but he cried all the time; probably because I had NO clue what I was doing. Plus I was exhausted from Johnny's lack of sleep and all of the holiday festivities surrounding Johnny's birthday (Christmas and New Years... two biggies). Plus I was BORED. No one tells you how absolutely boring newborns are. When they are awake, they are crying or eating. You can't do too much with them for fear they will be overstimulated and then will sleep even less than they already do.

Hank, on the other hand, has been so much easier than Johnny. Is he any different? Not really. He is a finicky sleeper already and can't handle being on his back to sleep, but this time I know what I'm doing and I have a pretty awesome toddler to keep me occupied so I'm never bored. The first six weeks have actually gone by pretty quickly... however you won't find me telling any other sleep-deprived first-time moms to "cherish every moment."

By this point, Hank is starting to smile when I do and sleeps great at night... the night sleep thing is a whole other post... I'm working on it. He weighed in at 12lbs 4oz at my postpartum appointment yesterday, which means he is doing just fine. Obviously no trouble eating, that's for sure. He is so strong that I can't use a regular receiving blanket to swaddle him, he's been in the Miracle Blanket from the beginning. Hank the Tank indeed.

Yes, I know I should put up a picture... but I'm way too lazy to find the camera and upload one. Maybe later.

At the Wild Anim- Wait, no, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

My mother-in-law and I took Johnny and Hank to the newly-renamed San Diego Zoo Safari Park last week since it's actually pretty close and I had a free guest pass that had to be used by the end of this month. So we packed up the boys and took them out for a few hours.

When we walked in, there was a zookeeper giving a talk about a wallaroo (I can only assume this is a hybrid between a kangaroo and wallaby, but we missed the beginning of the keeper talk) and Johnny enjoyed watching it bounce around the exhibit. Later that day, he kept jumping in his crib saying "Roo! Roo!" Epic cuteness.

Johnny checking out the wallaroo

The wallaroo

Hank just chillin' while we watched the wallaroo

 

 The last time Johnny and I went to the Safari Park, he was fascinated by the lorikeets. There's a small aviary housing these really bright birds and you can purchase nectar to feed them. When you walk in with the nectar, they flock to you and climb all over your arms and head to drink out of the cup you're holding. Well, this time I wanted Johnny to get an up-close look at the lorikeets, you know, since he dug them so much last time. So Grandma purchased some nectar and we watched to see what Johnny would do.... well, he didn't dig them so much this time. He was WAY more fascinated with the water that the birds were bathing in. Go figure.

Grandma trying to interest Johnny in the lorikeets.

Johnny standing a safe distance away from the lorikeets.

Grandma holding tight to Johnny's hand so I can get at least ONE picture of Johnny and a bird.

Me and my boys. Hank's in the orange wrap.

The Safari Park has a cute little splash pad that I thought Johnny would get a kick out of, considering how much he enjoys the garden hose. So, I planned ahead and dressed Johnny in some swim trunks and packed an extra set of clothes for after he got soaked.

At the splash pad.

This is actually a lion, but Johnny kept calling it a dog.

He was mildly interested, but then after about six minutes he ran into the grass and had much more fun there rolling down the hills and having Grandma chase him.

Overall, it was a lovely day at the Safari Park. Johnny showed a little interest in some of the animals (namely the ones that were really close to us for viewing) and Hank slept the entire time.

Johnny and sadism

Johnny has always laughed at me whenever I stub my toe or hit my head on something. He thinks it's hilarious when I make a sad face. And he erupts into fits of giggles when he's the one doing the hurting:

http://youtu.be/PzF3Xqm5Xmc

At least he's cute when he's trying to make your spleen explode.

My 5 Items for the first month

I know I've only been a mom of 2 for one month, but I wanted to document the things that helped me get through the first five weeks unscathed.

5. Coffee. I don't like coffee brewed straight up. Maybe given enough time I could handle it, but for now I like my little frou-frou Starbucksy drinks. I was going to Bad Ass Coffee on mornings when I needed a hit, but this recipe has cured me of that money drain.

4. My car and the Car Songs CD from the Schmidts - These two go hand-in-hand, so I'm classifying them as one. Johnny LOVES the music on this CD, but I tell him that we can only listen to it if we're driving (if we just turn on the car and listen to it, the car battery dies... story for another time). So, sometimes I'll pack the boys up and we'll drive around listening to kids' songs. Granted, I'm SO OVER "Zippity Do Da" but I'm not over my older son being totally happy and adorable and my other one asleep in the car. The car is also an excellent place for Johnny to play (with the car off) while I nurse Hank in the passenger seat. Gotta love how multi-functional cars are.

3. Sam the Cooking Guy's book - I am not a gifted cook. I can't just look at random ingredients and make something delicious like my sister-in-law Leslie (have you been to her website, by the way?), therefore, cookbooks are my friends. Especially Sam's cookbook, which uses ingredients I know and has recipes for foods that are delicious and very quick to make. Making dinner with Johnny running around and Hank strapped to my chest is an awful lot easier when I only have to spend fifteen minutes making it.

2. Maya Wrap Ring Sling - I LOVE this thing! I have every baby carrier known to man and while Hank doesn't seem to have a preference for any of them, I like this one the best because I don't overheat in it. The Ergo and Moby, while distributing Hank's weight better, are just way too hot to wear while chasing Johnny in 85 degree weather. I'm thinking of making another one just to have on hand; they have instructions on their website!

1. Help from others. With Johnny, I felt like I had something to prove and thus, didn't accept help when it was offered. Granted, I learned a lot and probably felt more confident after braving it alone than if I had someone helping me every step of the way, but it probably would have been WAY less stressful for myself and John if I had just put away my pride and asked for help. This time around, the help is what got me through. From in-house helpers to friends who dropped by with dinner, every little bit helped. My advice to moms: You may want to do it alone and you can, but your life will be so much easier if you just accept even a little help here and there, especially because people want to do it! If your uncle calls and asks if you need anything tell him to pick something up for you! If your mom calls and wants to hang out with your baby for a few hours so you can get a nap, take her up on it. I promise, you're going to be a mom forever and accepting help from a willing helper can make the difference between sanity and insanity.

Sharing

A few weeks ago, John set up our trusty Little Lamb swing downstairs and it hasn't been all that useful. The main problem is that every time I put Hank in it, Johnny messes with him. He pokes Hank's eye, holds his nose shut, tries to give him jelly beans or a sip from his sippy cup or just stands there and yells, "Hank! Hank! Hank!"... especially if Hank is sleeping.

I suppose I should think that Johnny's interaction with his little brother is cute, but mostly it's just obnoxious because I have to stop whatever I'm doing to pull Johnny's finger out of Hank's eye socket. So most of the time Hank doesn't go in the swing because I just end up annoyed... until this happened:

Yep, that's Johnny putting his phone (non-working of course) up to Hank's ear and saying "Pa?" "Call?" So cute.

But not cute enough to risk Hank's eyesight and overall well-being on a daily basis.

The Case of the Exploding Diaper

The title sounds like a Nancy Drew book, does it not? Okay, maybe Nancy Drew: the Mom Years.

For whatever reason, Johnny's nighttime diaper has been exploding. I don't mean that when I pick him up, there's a cascade of urine escaping his diaper, I mean there's an explosion that occurs sometime in the wee hours of the morning and leaves this lovely mess:

In case you can't see the mess clearly in the picture above, it is composed of large quantities of urine-bloated crystals. Not just in that one spot, oh no! That would be much too easy to clean up. These wet crystals stick to EVERYTHING. Johnny's sheets, his stuffed animal Scout, Blankie, the crib, the wall behind the crib, Johnny's extremities, Johnny's hair, my clothing, etc, etc. And then for days afterward I feel them on my feet when I walk into Johnny's room... which means I walk around with urine on my feet for a few days. Now, I know I'm a mom and I'm supposed to be into that, but it's so not my cup of tea.

Anyway. Johnny's already in the largest size overnight diapers and they have been fine up until now. He is drinking more water because it's rather hot these days, but you would think he would also be sweating some of that out... weird. I'm not exactly sure what I should do about the nighttime diaper situation, so if y'all have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

That time I forgot about the 4th of July

 I was just looking over my July posts when I realized that I never posted about our amazing 4th of July weekend!! (What is it that makes me write "4th" instead of Fourth? It just doesn't look right when it's all written out like that.) We had a big weekend planned with my dad and stepmom coming out for a nice long visit to meet baby Hank and hang with Johnny.

 That Sunday, John, Lisa and Jack came down and stopped by to say hello. So of course we took the opportunity to dress Jack and Johnny in matching clothes and take lots of pictures. I don't think Jack or Johnny really cared a lick about each other and Hank was oblivious, but hey, whatever. They have their entire lifetimes to start caring about each other as cousins.

Johnny giving Hank a hug.

Johnny giving Hank a hug = bonking his head on Hank's chest.

Independence Day itself was spent at our neighbor's house at her pool party. You would think that meant swimming in the pool, but it was more about keeping Johnny from stealing other kids' toys, walking out the front door or trying to throw inner tubes into the lower yard by tempting him with Cheetos. But the food was delicious, the weather was gorgeous and the people were fun. What more could you ask for... besides a child not bent on self-destruction?

Johnny is not stoked about the swimming pool.

Still not stoked... even with floaties. Or maybe not stoked BECAUSE of the floaties.

Holy crap! A picture of me! How did that happen?!

Our neighbor, and excellent hostess.

Johnny and his friend Kai Lee... yeah, Johnny's a pro at the "thigh grab".

My first week as a mother of 2

Last week was my first *real* week as a mother of two. Up until last week, I had lots of help. John stayed home from work for a week, his mother stayed with us for a little over a week, my dad and stepmom came for a really long weekend and my mom has been in and out for the last three weeks helping here and there.

This week, it was just me. I have to admit, I was rather intimidated by the whole thing on Sunday night.

But it all went relatively well... surprisingly. Juggling Hank and Johnny hasn't been difficult because Hank is still pretty sleepy and a snuggler to boot. I pack him up in my ring sling (my savior) and we just follow Johnny around all day. Luckily, Johnny doesn't seem to mind playing independently while I nurse Hank. I just have to make sure I pick an appropriate place to nurse... a childproof place is best, like our playroom with the bookcases bolted to the walls and the television secured to the wall with high tension wire in studs. When I pick an inappropriate place, Johnny ends up pulling a barstool on himself and making me wonder if he has a concussion... but that's another story for another day. I believe I was talking about how well this week went...

I noticed that everything comes down to timing, as life does in many cases. Knowing that Johnny goes down for a nap at 1, I would try to get Hank sleeping around 12:30 so I could focus my attention on Johnny for a good half hour. Did that work every day? Nope, not even close. Hank had to cry by himself for a good fifteen minutes on Friday while I put Johnny down... and guess what? He lived through the experience. I would NEVER have done that with Johnny, so this is whole I-can't-pay-attention-to-you-because-I-have-more-important-things-to-attend-to thing is entirely new to me. In the morning, I leave Hank all alone in his bassinet (sometimes sleeping, sometimes just chilling) while I get Johnny up and dressed for the day. I think I can count on one hand how many times I left Johnny alone in his first month of life. Oh, how things change with the second one.

So let me give myself a shout out for surviving the week: You go mama! You rock that double offspring lifestyle!

In the ring sling

The Maya Wrap ring sling. So awesome.

Johnny providing moral support for Hank's tummy time.

Silly face during our photo shoot.

Hank is 1 month old!

I'm 1 month old today!

Look at my dimple!

This is my first post, so I'm a little nervous about what I should write. My first month outside the womb has been pretty uneventful, considering all I do is eat, sleep and poop. I'm fascinated by my older brother, even though he keeps trying to poke me in the eye and sit on my head. I am a snuggler for sure and my mom hopes I don't grow out of that too quickly, but it would be nice if I could learn to sleep somewhere other than the ring sling. Maybe I'll help her out eventually, but for now, I'm happy to snuggle up to her for every nap and sleep at night.

I'm THAT parent...

... that bribes their kid with food. Yes, there were many things I said I'd never do as a parent and I've probably done about every single one of them... including bribing Johnny with sweets. See, now that I'm a mother of two, I have way more things to do and less time (and patience) to do them. I used to spend a good 20 or 30 minutes coaxing Johnny into the house from the front yard. Now? When I want him in the house, I want him in the house ten seconds ago. Usually because Hank needs feeding, but it could also be because I have to eat something before I collapse or I haven't gotten a chance to use the bathroom all day and my bladder is now approaching critical mass... but I digress.

So I got a Costco-size container of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Mind you, I bought this delectable "food" because I like to have something sweet after dinner and now that I'm no longer pregnant, I should be watching what I'm eating. No more eating brownies with reckless abandon. Then, I decided to see if Johnny liked them. Looking back, that was a stupid experiment. They're pure sugar, of course he's going to like them. He liked them so much that he instantly learned the word "bean" and will chant it eerily every time I open the pantry. A couple of days ago I was trying to get Johnny in the house while dealing with a squirmy, hungry Hank, but Johnny kept running away in the hopes I would chase him. This is when I said, "Hey Johnny, if you come inside now, I'll let you have FIVE jelly beans." Johnny stopped suddenly, turned around, put up five fingers and said, "FIVE?!" I replied in the affirmative and watched him race into the house. I've never seen him go into the house so willingly and so quickly before. It was awesome.

On the bright side, while I may be filling my kid with empty calories, it's a great chance to practice his colors. Thank you Jelly Belly, for making such vibrant colored (and small) candies.

Wrong side of the bed

I do enjoy being a mom to a toddler, I really do. And most days are great and those are mostly what I write about here. But not everyday is sunshine and rainbows. Some days are just downright ugly. Like two days ago. Johnny just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was INCONSOLABLE all day long. He kept handing me toys and saying "Off?" in an attempt to get me to take them apart. Unfortunately, none of these toys came apart, which I told him. Then he'd say, "Please?" and would get all upset when I would deny him yet again. This is what a toddler meltdown looks like (with a baby fussing in the background... sorry about that):

Embedding isn't working again. :( Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TcnodEQGQA

Johnny was like this all. day. long. Granted, when I took this video, he hadn't had breakfast yet, but that's only because he refused to eat anything I offered him. He also decided that he wanted to be into anything and everything that we don't like him getting into... like the refrigerator. Now that he can open it, he wants to open it as much as possible. Most of the time, I tell him to close it and distract him with something else. That day? Not possible. He kept getting out the cheese and then refusing to have any when I opened it for him. I finally resorted to holding the doors shut and that resulted in another epic meltdown. Luckily, these days are few and far between for Johnny and I hope they will stay that way... at least until the "terrible twos," right?

19 months

I'm 19 months old today!

Mom has been slacking on letting me do my own monthly posts. Hopefully she can get her act together now that Hank's around and she doesn't get so tired from being so big.

This month I added all kinds of words to my vocabulary. Words like "please" and "keys" and "broom" are some that I use often. I know all of my colors (most of the time), but I still have trouble with the color grey. Occasionally I'll put two words together, but that's pretty rare still. Mom keeps encouraging me to say things like "more please", but I'm sure she'll regret that once I can string words into full sentences.

I have also learned how to turn doorknobs this month! I'm pretty excited about this one because it means I can get into (or out of) any room in the house and the house itself. Mom put a few child safety knob covers on a couple of the doorknobs so I can't turn those (Mom has trouble with them too), but there are still plenty of other doors to open and close. Yep, I'm on my way to being  a full-blown troublemaker!

Tomatoes?!

So last year, I planted 7 tomato plants. Oh yes, SEVEN tomato plants. I nourished them and took very gentle care of them throughout the summer... but never ended up eating a single tomato from any of them. Then five of the plants were eaten by cutworms and I figured that the other two would be killed by the winter... but I was wrong!

Turns out all I had to do was ignore the plants to get them to grow and flourish. Go figure.

Teeth?

I had thought that the time for bibs was past, with the exception of mealtimes, of course. Turns out I was wrong. Do you see the amazing amount of drool going on here?!

Usually drool like this means that teeth are on their way in... but he's been drooling like this for AT LEAST two months. There are teeth there and they're close to the surface, but not ready to poke through yet. Well, at least it keeps him cool in this hot weather.

In the pool

John made an epic discovery. Our son will swim in the pool... but only if he's naked.

We already knew that our little boy LOVES to be naked and finally John figured out that Johnny'll actually swim when he's not wearing a stitch of clothing. This is a good thing because it means Johnny isn't scared of the pool, but it's a bad thing because now he wants to play in the pool naked all. the. time. No problem when John is home, but when it's just me... it's impossible. I can't exactly jump in and save him with a baby strapped to my chest. Therefore, he throws a fit every afternoon when I won't let him play around the pool. Sometimes a being a good parent = being a life-ruiner.

Toddler and temperament

Johnny is a toddler. Not only because he toddles (now he's actually running, but I think that's still considered "toddling"), but also because he has gotten temperamental about stuff. Some things are small, like one day he will eat an entire clamshell of blueberries and the next he will spit them out and use them to finger paint his food tray.

Other things are huge. Like one day he decided he doesn't like to take baths. WHAAAAAAT?!?! This kid LOVES baths! As evidenced here and here. But no longer. Johnny has sworn off baths and it requires serious bribing to get him into the bathtub.

Here's how a typical negotiation session goes:

John: Okay, Johnny, if you take a bath, I'll let you flush the toilet FIVE times. (Holds up five fingers)

Johnny: Five?

John: Yes, FIVE times, but only if you take a bath.

Johnny: Five!

John: Yes, FIVE times.

Johnny looks hesitantly at bathtub, then at toilet and finally gets into the bathtub.

For serious. Getting to flush the toilet was a great way to get Johnny to take a bath... until he kind of got over it. Then it was FIVE flushes before the bath and FIVE flushes after, which is a good enough reward... for now.
 

First bath for Hank!

With Johnny, the instant his umbilicus fell off, he got a bath. With Hank... well, his umbilicus fell off a week before we gave him a bath. The only reason we bathed him is because he smelled quite... foul. Which is bad considering everyone says that you don't need to bathe newborns because they don't do much. Well, that sour breastmilk smell was really starting to get to me.

Anyway, Hank really enjoyed his bath, but he's WAY too big to be bathing in the sink. Next time we'll go for the actual bath tub.

He's got guns.

Two weeks old and he already fills Daddy's arms.