Zacharoo update

Let's get caught up with some Zach stories and updates:

To answer the question we get asked the most often, Zach really is doing well with the adjustment. He has moments of neediness, generally directed towards me. That is rather unusual, because typically, if his dad is around, I am more or less invisible to Zach. So to have him want to snuggle me or play with me when Scott is right there... not too hard to figure out what that is about. He also tends to have these "needy moments" right when I am feeding Charlie - again, fairly obvious what is going on in his mind. But I've gotten much better at multi-tasking - doing things like reading books, playing go fish, etc, while making sure Charlie gets fed too.

Zach is fascinated with Charlie. His fascination comes in what I would describe as bursts - short, intense, and frequent. He often wants to look at Charlie's eyes, and of course likes to stick his face as close to Charlie's as he possibly can when he's studying him. He is generous with his hugs and kisses too. We've had to give some specifics as to what "be gentle" means - where it's ok to touch, how it's ok to touch, etc. He hasn't shown any animosity towards his brother (yet?), and we haven't heard the dreaded "take him back" yet either!

But here is a story to illustrate exactly where Charlie ranks with Zach. We had left one of Zach's cars - a character named Sally - at my parents' house the last time we were there. They were unable to find her when they came a couple weeks ago, so my dad ended up going to three different stores before he was able to find the elusive Sally. Zach loved the story of how grandpa searched and searched, and was thrilled to have the new Sally. So a few days after Charlie was born, Zach was outside playing cars in the driveway. Our neighbor, who I had emailed with the news of Charlie's birth, came home and called out "Zach - I heard you have someone new at your house!" Zach's response? An enthusiastic yes, as he held up... Sally.

Zach has also figured out that Grandpa is a big teaser, and spent much of the week my parents were here practicing his own teasing skills on Grandpa. Our favorite was when he said, out of the blue - Grandpa, you don't go to work OR go curling. All you do is just sleep all day and sleep all night!

As I know I've mentioned before, Zach is a pretty laid-back and flexible kid. But I'm starting to notice that while he's not overtly strong-willed, in the sense that if he knows we want him to do something he'll resist just to prove he can, he definitely decides when it's time for him to accomplish something. A perfect example was potty-training; he'd been going to the bathroom at our prompting for quite a while, and then one day decided he was ready, and that was it - he would let us know every time he had to go, no accidents.

A more recent example has been swimming. Scott has been taking Zach to the pool at the Y all winter, playing in the water but trying to teach him to swim at the same time. Scott made some progress - we could put two fun noodles under his arms and he'd swim around independently. But the last time I was in a pool with Zach was in early March, at Scott's birthday party. Zach clung to me for dear life, and wouldn't jump off the side of the pool unless we were holding both of his hands - he didn't trust us to catch him. So imagine my surprise when Scott came home from the Y a few weeks later and said Zach swam by himself! He apparently decided he was ready, and suddenly was not only swimming by himself, but jumping off the edge, swimming back to the surface, and then swimming to Scott. Since then Scott estimates he's swum (swam?) as much as 11 yards by himself. I wish we could show you video or pictures, but unfortunately our Y has strict privacy rules... I guess some adults don't want their picture taken in their swimming suits! Hopefully he'll remember how to swim and we'll be able to capture his skills this summer.

Another example of Zach's independence has turned out to be really helpful now. When he first mastered potty-training, we were doing just about everything for him, as far as pulling his pants down, putting him on the toilet, etc etc. Well... we started taking small steps to get him to do parts of the process on his own, and sure enough, one day he suddenly insisted he could do it himself, and would I please stay out in the hall until he needed help (unfortunately our faucets are not kid-friendly; he isn't strong enough to turn the water on himself)? This boy will do things at his own pace, that's for sure!

In other Zach news, he went to the dentist for the first time last week (I was not about to reschedule... we had to wait 3 months to get in with the highly-recommended, in-demand pediatric dentist in town!). I was so proud of him. He hesitated a little when asked to get in the chair, but otherwise showed no fear. The hygienist did a fantastic job, showing him each instrument (i.e "Mr. Thirsty, Mr. Squirty, etc) before she used it, letting him touch everything, etc. He asked lots of questions, and when we left told the dentist himself that he'd come back. :) We did learn, not surprisingly, that his thumb-sucking has done some damage to his teeth - when he was lying back in the chair I could clearly see, for the first time, that his front teeth definitely angle outwards. This apparently is not a big concern; it will self-correct when he stops sucking his thumb, and his permanent teeth won't be affected. But I was surprised to learn that the teeth on his upper jaw have shifted inwards due to the pressure of the sucking, resulting in his top teeth not aligning with his bottom teeth when he closes his mouth. So there may be some orthodontics in this kid's future. Although I think he was headed that way anyway, based on his genetics!

I also have noticed something lately that has made me feel good, and proud of my son. We've emphasized manners pretty hard with Zach, and I've been delighted to see lately that it's sinking in. Several times we've had someone hold open doors for us lately (seems to happen more often when you have a stroller and a preschooler with you!), and Zach, completely unprompted, has said "thank you" to them as he goes through the door. It absolutely warms my heart, especially when you see the look of surprise and amazement on the person's face. They clearly don't expect someone Zach's age to thank them for holding a door open for him!

Charlie's first week

Our little peanut is already 10 days old! We don't have a lot of big news for you, since not much has been going on other than eating, sleeping, and changing diapers.

Speaking of which... we're having a very different experience with this little boy. I used to wonder why people needed those tents you put over a little boy's private parts to keep him from peeing all over when you changed his diaper. I think Zach did that about 5 times total. Charlie? Probably happens 75% of the time we change his diaper!!! Anyone have any advice??


^ The worst phase of Charlie's newborn rash (harmless, but so angry-looking!) - his poor little left eye swelled up quite a bit.

^ Charlie's first bath, delayed about 24 hours until we were certain his blood sugar was ok. Apparently stress can drive down blood sugars, and bathing is definitely stressful for this guy. If you want to see him scream, all you have to do is take any portion of his clothes off.

^ Wendy and Chris visiting in the hospital - thanks again for rescuing us when we had to head to the hospital in the middle of the night! Charlie's first carseat ride home; because he was premature, he had to pass an apnea test first, to ensure he wouldn't stop breathing when in the carseat. We're happy to know that he won't. :)

^ Enjoying some time outside with grandma reading to him, and snuggling with grandpa. It's been so wonderful to take this little guy outside... I don't think Zach got any fresh air until he was about 3 months old!

^ Charlie's thinking pose; ready for a nap - in clothes that fit him! Thanks to the Tanious family for lending us some preemie clothes - he was absolutely swimming in newborn sizes!

^ Wink wink! We went to the doctor last Wednesday, and once again Charlie was pronounced perfectly healthy. He had put on two ounces since we left the hospital - on his way back to his birth weight!

Brothers

Take a nap or review and edit pictures so I can update the blog? Those seem to be my choices these days; guess which is winning? Charlie and I had a pretty good night last night, so I thought I'd include some of the pictures of both our boys over the last week.

Many people have asked if Charlie looks like Zach. I've never been good at the whole "he has your eyes and my chin" thing; so I won't give you a detailed analysis of their comparative features. In my opinion, they look similar but not the same. In other words - they look like brothers. What do you think?

^ Zach and Charlie, both less than 1 week old (Charlie sporting his now-gone newborn rash)


^ First meeting - Zach insisted we unswaddle Charlie so he could see all of him.


^ a kiss from big brother; Zach examining Charlie's fingers


^ More kisses; Dr. Seuss with with dad


^ Showing Charlie his cars; no idea what that face is about!


^Snuggling...

Visitor flashbacks

Three years later... our friend Caitlin has changed a lot! (Zach on the left, Charlie right)

Three years later... Grandpa K hasn't changed much:

Our boys

So very much to update you on, but for now I'll just say everybody is doing well, and share this picture... which I LOVE!

Welcome Charlie

We are so thrilled to introduce you to our son, Charles William - aka Charlie. Charlie was born on Saturday, April 17th at 11:51 am. At birth he weighed 6 lbs 2 oz, and was 18.5 inches long. He was three weeks and one day early, which technically makes him premature by that one day. But other than his size, you wouldn't know it; he had great apgar scores and mastered eating, peeing, and pooping like a champ. Now we just have to work on sleeping. :)

The alternate title for this post is "be careful what you wish for." I wanted this baby to come before my due date; Charlie came in April instead of May. I wanted to experience spontaneously going into labor; my water broke in the middle of the night. I wanted a fast labor; it progressed so quickly I couldn't get my beloved epidural. But, since all I really wanted was a healthy baby, and that's what we got, I think I'll just keep on wishing for things.

The story of Charlie's birth:

Friday night... after falling into bed around 11:15 pm, tired from prepping for a big fund-raiser garage sale I'd volunteered to help with, I suddenly woke up at 12:26 am. And whoosh - my water broke as I simply laid there in bed, immobile with surprise and probably sleep too. And when I told Scott, I think there was about 60 seconds of silence before he could comprehend what I said and respond. Needless to say, we were not expecting this!

We called the hospital and were told to come right in; they don't like to mess around when your water has broken, for fear of infection, etc. So even though I wasn't really having any significant contractions, we tried to wake up enough to figure out what to pack for the hospital, and what exactly we wanted to do with Zach. We had a plan ready, but hadn't really discussed the specifics with my parents or the friends who'd agreed to watch Zach for us. So after a long debate, we called both my parents and Wendy and Chris so we could surprise them too. My mom kept saying "we're not ready!" - a sentiment we certainly shared.

After Chris arrived to crash on our couch, we headed to the hospital around 2 am. We discovered, not surprisingly, that I wasn't having contractions of any significance, so they advised us to sleep. We did so until about 6, and since my labor still wasn't going anywhere, planned to start the pitocin at 8 - after I got a shower, some breakfast, and a dose of antibiotics (a precaution since my strep-B test results weren't back yet). Scott headed home quickly to relieve Chris and take Zach out to breakfast. Our friends Adam, Jamie, and Sylvia filled in to keep Zach company until my parents could complete the drive from Milwaukee. (thanks again everyone!!)

By the time Scott got back to the hospital around 9:30, the pitocin had kicked in. The nurses and doctor had determined earlier that while the baby was extremely low - basically in the last "station" before coming out - I wasn't really dilated at all. So Scott, my IV pole, and I started walking - around and around the floor. After a while I was having some significant pain during the contractions, but could still walk and talk so we kept going. Around and around.

A little before 11 I was ready to stop walking, as the pain, especially in my back, was getting intense. We went back to my room, where the nurse (Holly) came in and was prepping some things in the room and giving advice on managing my pain. About 11:15 I cried uncle; my request for an epidural caught Holly by surprise. Apparently I hadn't given the appropriate impression of the amount of pain I was in until that point! So she started preparing the paperwork and contacting the anesthesiologist... until I shortly said I felt like I needed to push. Needless to say, the baby was coming long before the anesthesiologist. And, as it turned out, the doctor!

The on-call doctor who had checked me out that morning had gone home, after learning that I was only fingertip dilated. When it was clear the baby was going to come while he was still en route, the two very experienced nurses who were coaching me along pulled the nurse midwife out of the active labor in the room next door (sorry other mom-to-be!). So at 11:51 AM, after about ten minutes of pushing, Charlie arrived! Despite the fact that his torso and legs (not neck) were wrapped up in the umbilical cord, he was wiggling around and crying immediately. Scott got to cut the cord this time too! Whew.

The rest of the day is sort of a blur. My parents and Zach came later that afternoon, and we had to laugh at Zach's immediate reaction. He walked in, happy to see us, but wondering where the baby was. I was in bed holding Charlie, who was all swaddled up; I don't know if it was the blankets or just his small size - but Zach could not see him! So we played a little game of hide and seek until he discovered his brother. He was initially fascinated and adoring - snuggled up with us in the bed, gave Charlie a kiss, and insisted on seeing his entire body, not just his face. But after about 5 minutes, he turned to my parents and said "let's go home." I guess the novelty of having grandma and grandpa to himself was much more attractive than hanging out in a hospital room with a sleeping baby and exhausted parents!

The only prematurity-related concern has turned out to be Charlie's blood sugar levels the first 24 hours or so after he was born; this is also a concern for babies of gestational diabetes moms. He got to have two boosts of formula to ensure his levels stayed where they should be - a very interesting feeding process! But after some good feedings, we were all set.

We came home Monday, and have basically been settling in, figuring out our littlest one and spending time with our big guy. My parents will be here most of the week, and we are so grateful for the help! More to come soon... time for sleep.

Backseat traffic cop

Driving in the car with Zach is an interesting experience these days. It's certainly never been a quiet experience, but lately, this is what I hear:

What's the speed limit on this road? (answer: 40)

Are you going 40??

What's the speed limit on this road? (answer: 55)

Are you going 55??

What's the speed limit on this road? (35)

Are you going 35??

If you dare to answer anything other than "yes" to the second question, say if you're still accelerating from a stop, then you must also be prepared to explain why. Needless to say, a lot of rounding happens in our car.

These new favorite questions have not replaced his other favorite questions:

How many minutes until we get there?

Now how many minutes until we get there?

A question increasing in popularity is "what's that sign?" Good luck explaining this sign to a three-year-old:

And we seem to have a lot of this particular sign in Woodbury.

A few weeks ago, when explaining one of the signs (can't remember which one), I made the mistake of mentioning that there are lots of rules of driving. So Zach, of course, wanted to know them. I listed about six I thought he could easily understand, things like speed limits, driving on the correct side of the road, etc etc. But that wasn't enough - he just kept asking me what the other rules were. Sigh. Can't we just listen to the radio?

Kiddo updates

I'll start with Zach, with a few random stories to capture for posterity...

One day Zach and I were playing with a soft sponge-like ball that he was able to catch really well. I commented on that, and he said "my little fans would be so proud of me." Huh? Me: You have little fans? Z: No, just one - one big fan. Me: Who? Z: Daddy! Oh. That sounds about right. :)

Another baby-related question, shortly after watching an episode of Caillou: will the baby be like Caillou's sister Rosie? I said no, that our baby wouldn't be able to talk or walk right away, like Rosie can. Zach's response: can he waddle like a penguin?

While shopping for shoes one day at Kohl's, Zach picked out some Cars sandals (shocking, I know). I had him try them on and run/walk through the aisles to see if they were comfortable. He complied, and as he was running he shouted "these are the bombigity!" I thought the woman next to us was going to choke, she laughed so hard.

And another story of our little mimic. One day Zach said to me "mom, you have three choices for playing: number 1 - cars; number 2 - playing with these tools, or number 3 - playing with these other tools. Which do you choose?" I'm starting to question the experts advice that you give your kids choices as much as possible! :)

Zach is continuing to interact more with Koskie, and again, I'm hearing echoes of our own voices. Koskie has a tendency to want to sniff anything we bring into the house, especially if it's in a plastic bag. So I laughed when I heard Zach say "No pooch, those are just stickers, they're not food."

We have been spending a lot of time outside, now that this early spring appears to be here to stay. It has, however, been quite windy many days, which is not something Zach appreciates (he comes by this naturally). Scott was teasing him this morning about it, and said "you're a big wind guy." Zach immediately responded "No, I'm a little sun guy!"

Zach's biggest new achievement? Swimming! We're hoping to get pictures and/or video this week, so will provide more info shortly!

And a baby update...
I had my 36 week appointment this week. I'm now on the every-week schedule, which really drives it home that this baby is coming soon! I'll spare you the details, but basically I learned that like Zach was, this baby is extremely low already. Which is a good thing when it comes to delivery time, but not such a great thing when it comes to my own comfort for the next few weeks!

My gestational diabetes has remained under control with the diet (whew), and I should be in the clear now since your hormones tend to settle down the last few weeks of pregnancy. However, it's standard to not let a "G.D. mom" go past her due date, which is why I was induced with Zach. The same will be the plan this time: the drop-dead end date of this pregnancy will be May 10th. So I will continue hoping he'll come earlier, since the ultrasound estimates the due date as 5/2, not the established 5/9. While it would be easier for our Zach-watchers if everything was scheduled, I'd really like to see what it's like to go into labor spontaneously... trying to figure out if it's just false labor, how far apart contractions are, rushing to the hospital, etc!

Easter catch-up

Zach and I started our Easter weekend off Friday, when we decorated some eggs. Since he is almost universally not interested in anything creative/arty, I kept it simple with the basic dye and a dozen eggs. Little did I know he would LOVE it - I should have had another dozen eggs ready for him.

^Note the tongue sticking out - apparently the universal method of concentrating. We only lost one egg!

^ As much dye on his fingers as on the eggs.

Saturday afternoon we joined some friends at the Rose's house for a good 'ol egg hunt. Zach had a blast last year at his first hunt, and we'd had several egg hunts in our house in the weeks leading up to the big day. But, of course, then he couldn't have been less interested in finding the eggs, even when he knew there was chocolate in some of them! He did, however, enjoy trying to get the eggs out of the trees; the Easter Bunny apparently can jump pretty high.

^Taking a good whack at the tree; Kasey and Sylvia sharing their finds


^ The Tanious' family checking out their spoils

After the egg hunt we participated in the always-traditional Easter activity of grass-sledding. See if you can tell who had the most fun:



Next we headed indoors for a pizza on the floor picnic. And since the weather was still showing off, we trekked to a local park, where the kids had the most fun being bounced on this... thing. I don't think that's what it's intended for, but they all couldn't get enough!



After a day like that, all you can do is throw the kids in the tub. They enjoyed coloring on the walls and on each other, and then somehow magically all went to sleep easily so we could enjoy some adults-only time. Whew.



All this, and it wasn't even Easter yet! Easter morning Zach searched until he found his Easter basket. He was happy to see a new car, a magnifying glass, and a huge bubble wand, but the chocolate definitely caused the loudest squeals. I have to note, while he was very intrigued by the chocolate bunny, he STILL hasn't chosen to eat any of it! Not even the ears!



After some family pictures (see previous post), we headed to a brunch at Tartan Park - 3M's country/golf club. After a good meal and a good nap we drove north to celebrate our friend Caitlin's 5th birthday! How can she be five already??? Zach provided a running commentary as she opened her gifts, enjoyed a big slice of cake, and played really hard with Caitlin and her cousins. A fun day, capped off by a weinie roast over the fire, which Zach thought was a pretty darn cool way to cook.



Scott and I have always wished both our families were closer, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. But if you can't be with your family on a holiday, I have to say, our friends sure aren't a bad runner-up!