2 Months Old [Oliver]

Oliver William is two months old! Well, he's almost 10 weeks old now, but I started work again and life just got a whole lot busier. But I digress...

Oliver's two-month stats are:

• Weight - 15lb 2 oz (95th percentile)
• Height - 24" (88th percentile)
• Head - 41cm (91st percentile)

Like his brother at two months, he is a healthy, fast growing boy.

Here is our little big guy...

Here's a two-month milestone snapshot:

• Oliver is sleeping longer stretches through the night! He usually goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps 5-6 hours, wakes up to eat around 3AM, and then goes right back to bed until 6 AM. Then, he usually sleeps another 2-3 hours until it's time to take Isaac to preschool.
• He is still eating frequently, and like a champ. He's got the rolls to prove it. He's quickly growing out of 3 month sized clothes...
• He is talking up a storm! It is so fun to have a conversation with him, and he loves being sung to.
• His head control is getting better every day. During tummy time he can hold his head up pretty far, and only occasionally needs neck support (usually when he is "boob diving," as we call it).
• He is getting less fussy at night. He still has his moments, but he has less of the uncontrollable, colicky, "witching hour" fussiness (knock on wood).
• He makes the most charming and funny facial expressions! Sometimes he looks just like his brother, sometimes he looks like Chris Farley, other times he just looks like Oliver.
• He is usually a great trooper when we are out and about. But he still likes to exercise his lungs in the car...

Cheers!

Halloween Weekend 2014

Happy Halloween! 

Isaac enjoyed a Halloween party at preschool, followed by trick or treating in our neighborhood with friends. We also had a short visit with Eric's Dad, soccer, and lots of baby snuggles. A few photos from this weekend:

Jack-O-Lanterns

Isaac as Spiderman!

Sweet Brothers

Oliver and Bernadette on Halloween night

Isaac's trick or treating buddy, Malin

Grandpa Don and Oliver (and Lego Spiderman...)

Oliver is taking a bottle! Now, Mom and Dad can go out for dinner...

Our first dinner date out since Oliver / Grandpa Don babysitting 

Go Seahawks!

Lil Kickers Soccer

Isaac's Fall Festival - 2014

Isaac had his annual fall festival program at preschool last week. It is always a fun opportunity to see him with his friends, see what he is learning and interested in, and meet the other families.

Proud to show us his "pink reading" work

Showing us a favorite math activity - "birds eye view"

All the kids performing songs

Student profile, by Isaac

His writing is getting better each day! This is an example of his "pink reading" - one of his favorite activities

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer (Oi! Oi! Oi!)

We braved the fall, rainy weather on Saturday to attend the last regular season Sounders match against LA Galaxy. They won 2-0, ending the season with a bang and winning the Supporters Shield (i.e. they ended the regular season with the best MLS record... kind of a big deal). Oliver was a trooper, and Isaac was a great big brother helper. Here we are at our first Sounders match as a family of four, followed by photos of Isaac at his first indoor soccer practice.

Oliver was super happy snuggled up against Dad. He only woke up once to eat and fall back asleep.

Mom and Isaac

Mom and Ollie

Isaac and Dad -- Isaac is always such a trooper!

Isaac - ready for Lil' Kickers!

Now There's A Smile!

At six weeks, Oliver is starting to smile a lot! Somehow, a little smile makes us forget about the sleep deprivation and his "witching hour" screaming...

And speaking of sleeping, this little dude is now sleeping up to 5 1/2 hours straight at night, and falling right back asleep after eating. This is a big change from waking every 1-3 hours to eat. It's amazing how good that uninterrupted sleep feels...

Dad

There's something very sweet about a Dad with his son....

One Month Old

Oliver is one month old!

He is:

• Making new (non crying) sounds ("ahhhh" "oooh")
• Looking around a lot more and tracking with his eyes
• Starting to smile (probably just gas... but it melts my heart every time)
• Crying a lot during his evening "witching hour" and on car rides. He really doesn't like the car...
• Sleeping a lot during the day, but starting to get more consistent with sleep patterns (he's still waking up every 2-3 hours at night to nurse but usually feeds quickly and goes right back to sleep)
• Very happy in the Moby wrap (the red baby carrier in all the photos below), on walks, and in a nice warm bath
• Lifting his head during tummy time and getting stronger every day
• Eating great and has the chubby cheeks to prove it. According to our scale he now weighs over 12lb and measures over 22"

This last month I've learned:

• What Oliver's different sounds and cries mean 
• How to type one-handed
• How to juggle and balance two children (ex: grocery shopping with both boys is manageable!)
• How to breastfeed anywhere, because with two kids you can't always pony up at the couch or bed...
• The dog's barking doesn't wake Oliver up; however, me yelling at the dog for barking does...
• Eric is an awesome dad (well, I already knew that), and Isaac is a great big brother who already loves Oliver a lot
• We'll never be perfect parents. But we're doing our best and that makes us great parents. 
• We have an amazing support system of friends, family, and co-workers 

Lastly, here are a few photos from the past couple of weeks:

Watching the Sounders at The Yard pub while Isaac was at a playdate

Speaking of playdates, here's Ollie with Emery (my friend Heather's 5 month old son)

Isaac loves to take pictures with Oliver

The Moby wrap is so helpful to manage both boys -- especially when Dad is away for the weekend!

Yup, he cries too :)

Ahh... "milk drunk"

Mr. funny face man....

Oliver is Two Weeks Old

Look who is two weeks old!

At his two week appointment, Oliver weighed 9lb 12oz and was 21.5" long (up from 8lb 4oz at birth, and up from 7lb 15oz at his 3-day check up). We hope the nickname chunky monkey doesn't stick.

The past two weeks have been going well. However, as to be expected, we are in a bit of a newborn daze.

Oliver is starting to sleep better at night, waking up every two to three hours to nurse and then go right back to sleep. So far he is pretty easy to soothe, and Dad is the official baby whisperer during the evening when Ollie tends to be more fussy. Seriously though... Eric has a special touch.

We are also establishing a good routine juggling two kids, which is something I was worried about at first. For example, Oliver and I take Isaac to preschool in the morning. Oliver regularly sleeps in until 8 which gives Isaac and I an hour to get in a morning snuggle, eat breakfast together, and talk about the day. The one-on-one time is a nice start to the day, and we've set up a rewards chart for Isaac to encourage a cooperative morning. When screen time is on the line, it's amazing how well (and quickly) he gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and speaks politely!

I've been getting out for walks with Lodi again, and the Moby wrap is awesome for walks and soothing a tired baby. Here we are, all snuggled up.

And lastly, Ollie says "Go Seahawks!"

And, he's looking an awful lot like his brother in this picture.

Hello Oliver

We welcomed Oliver William to the world on Monday, September 15 at 4:30 AM. He was 8lb 4oz, 21 inches long, and he was born with a full head of hair.

Mom and Oliver saying their first hellos

Checking out the world

Oliver's Birth Story

Oliver was due September 10th, and we were starting to wonder how and when he would make his appearance. Would this baby ever come? Would he come fast like his brother, or would I have a more "normal" labor (if there is such a thing)? Here's how it all went down...

I went to bed on Sunday evening and woke up at 1 AM to a small amount of my water breaking. At 1:15 AM some light contractions started, and I started timing them to see if this was the real deal. Around 2:30 I called my midwife and was cleared to come into the childbirth center. Eric's Dad was visiting for the weekend, so he was able to stay with Isaac as we shuffled off to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 3 AM and contractions were picking up. I settled into the room and was checked -- 5 cm and fully effaced. We called parents to let them know this was indeed the "real deal." Not wanting to miss my pain management "window," I asked for an epidural right away. However, nature once again had other plans for this delivery. As I was completing the administrative check-in process, contractions were intensifying fast. At 4:20 AM and out of now where (it seemed), I felt the need to push. I was surprised when the nurse said - "baby is coming now!" As with Isaac, there was no time for an epidural...

After 10 minutes of pushing a la natural, Oliver was born at 4:30 AM... just over three hours from the first contraction.

Labor was intense but positive, and we were so happy to welcome a healthy, baby boy. Eric and the clinical staff were excellent support, as my body was moving a lot faster through labor than my mind. A few hours after he was born I was still in shock about how fast he came. As the nurse accurately said, "he blasted out!"

Oliver's First Few Days

We arrived home on Tuesday and have spent the past few days getting to know Ollie, introducing him to family and friends, sleeping when we can, supporting Isaac in this transition, and settling in to a new normal.

Isaac has been a fantastic big brother and seems very excited to have a baby brother.

Here's a few more photos of Ollie from the past few days.

Brotherly Love

Meeting Isaac & Grandma Jabbusch (I imagine I was retelling the birth story here...)

Merhar Guys

Big Boy

Meeting Grandpa Jabbusch

Meeting Grandma Merhar

Coming home from the hospital

Meeting Aunt Lisa 

Spending a little more time awake...

But sleeping an awful lot....