Catching up on Will

12/30/10 - Will at 7 weeks:

Will continues to be a healthy and happy baby! He is settling into a nighttime routine, going to bed around 9 or 10 and waking up around 2 and 5 to eat. He usually will go back to sleep for an hour or so after the second feeding which we all appreciate, especially now that Claire is back to sleeping until around 7. We're still tired, but feeling much more rested than we were a few weeks ago.

A few other things:

- Will has given us a few intentional smiles in the past week - I can't wait to see more of them! He gets excited when he hears Claire - I think her enthusiasm has rubbed off on him. She is still completely in love with her little brother, although we have to watch her very closely around him to make sure she doesn't smother him while showing affection.
- He can follow an object with his eyes and turns his head towards a sound.
- He sleeps great in his car seat, which helps when we have to run errands (and during our recent long trips to Dallas and Vernon!).
- He only gets really upset when he's hungry.
- He weighs about 12 1/2 pounds, which is more than Claire weighed at 4 months.

My full-time maternity leave is almost over. The school had an opening in the infant room for Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Will is going to start going to daycare and I will go back to work for those days as of the 18th. Right now the plan is to do the two day a week thing for the second half of January, then move up to 3 days a week in February. After that, my bosses and I are going to decide if I will stay at 3 days a week or go back to my 4 day schedule. I'm so glad my job is flexible!

I never posted Will's 5 & 6 week pictures, so here they are. Obviously, in week 6 I forgot what he was wearing in week 5. I really wanted to be sure to get a photo of him in this outfit, though. Before Claire was born, I bought this outfit in blue and pink to be the coming home outfit for her (not yet knowing she was a girl). It absolutely swallowed her, and she was a four months old before it fit properly - I wrote a post about it here. I was glad that I saved the blue one, and I think it really illustrates the size difference between my two children!

Five Weeks:

Six Weeks - Merry Christmas!:

Claire's Holiday Recital - Video

Here is a video of Claire's performance. The funniest part is just a few seconds in when she spots Robert and me sitting in the audience.




For a higher quality version, click here.

Claire's Holiday Recital

Claire's school had a holiday recital one evening. Her class "performed" to Christmas Morning by Raffi. She looked so cute up on stage in her PJs! Claire's Grandmommy (Robert's mom) was able to come down from Austin for the recital, and we were glad she was able to be there and join in the fun!

Will was asleep in his carrier, and we didn't want to wake him for pictures. :)

No time for a real update...

We are alive and doing well - just busy with life and the holidays. I have several things I want to post:

• Mommy & Daddy's visit to Claire's dance class
• Will's five week chair picture
• Claire's Christmas pageant
• Our visit to Austin for Carol's baby shower

But, I think it will be after Christmas before I'm able to get to it. In the meantime, here's a picture of sweet Will that I took today:

Merry Christmas!

Christmas List Updates

Lists have been updated with the items people are already purchasing for the kids!

Christmas Lists

We are super late in putting these together this year, but what can I say - we've been a little busy lately! If there's something in particular you'd like to get anyone, just e-mail me and I'll cross it off the list.

Claire:
Tricycle (with adjustable seat)
Learning Tower
Small step stool for her bathroom
Membership to McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels
Memory matching game (Original or one like this)
Skip Hop Zoo Little Kid Backpack, Bee
Skip Hop Zoo Lunchbag
Books - "Llama Llama Mad at Mama", "Llama Llama Red Pajamas", "Llama Llama Holiday Drama", "Thump Quack Moo" or "Duck for President"
Melissa & Doug wooden food sets (She has the cookie set and is already getting the pizza & sandwich sets)
Melissa & Doug 24 piece puzzle (she has the princess one)
Jack Johnson Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George CD
Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Will:
Activity Gym
Personalized labels for daycare from Mabel's Labels (need "Skinny-Minis" and "Tag Mates")
Sophie the Giraffe teether
Manhattan Toy Winkle
Lamaze "My First Mirror"
Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes
Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Amy & Robert - e-mail us!

Will - Four Weeks

The little monkey was in a great mood on the morning of his 4 week birthday.

It was a busy week! On Tuesday, Will and I went to the pediatrician for his one month appointment. He weighed in at 10 pounds, which meant that he gained almost two ounces a day over two weeks! Our doctor said that the gain was "exceptional" - not surprising, right? :) I'm officially predicting that by the time Will is 18 months old, he will weigh as much as Claire. The doctor told me to get prepared to have people asking if they are twins at some point in the future.

Will's umbilical cord still had not fallen off, so the doctor took care of it. A portion of the vein was holding on, so he quickly removed it. Will was hungry and ready for a little extra snack, so he sucked on a bottle the whole time and didn't even flinch when it came off. I was glad to be rid of it, and we were able to give him a real bath that night.

Will continues to be an easy baby - rarely fussy, and only gets really worked up when he is hungry. I'm already able to put him to bed "drowsy but awake" at night, and it usually doesn't take him long to go to sleep. He wakes up twice a night ready to eat, so I usually get a couple of 2.5 - 3.5 hour sleep sessions in a night before Claire gets up. Claire has been waking up really early (around 6), but the past couple of days she has slept a little later, which makes a huge difference for me. I need that extra hour or so!

Claire is still completely infatuated with her "Bubba". She squeals when she sees him every morning and every afternoon when we pick her up from school. Her new thing is laying on the floor beside him during his tummy time. She loves to help, and does a great job retrieving things for me and trying to pat Will when he is tired. We still have to remind her to be gentle and use soft hands, but she is doing a better job remembering on her own.

Now that we have had our first week on our own, and Will is settling into a good sleep schedule, I'm starting to feel like we are getting things under control!

Visitors

We were fortunate to have more family members visit us recently. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeremy stopped by on their way home from Austin. They are expecting Baby Grace in January, and we are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Claire and Will's new cousin!

Last weekend, Ma and Bob came to stay for a few days. They brought lots of presents from friends and family members, and Claire was excited to open all of them.

Will was content just observing.

She also had a great time making cookies with Ma - they were delicious!

We are blessed to have so many people who love us and who are excited to meet Will and spend time with Claire as we figure out how to run a family of 4!

Will at 3 Weeks - 12/2/2010

This was the best of the bunch!

Nana left that day after 3 weeks with us, and we were both a little tired. We are so thankful for all of her help - I don't know how we would've made it without her!

Claire at 3 weeks - click here.

Will's Second Week

Will is two weeks old today!

Claire got in on the chair pictures this week - brings back lots of memories!

Week Two started out great with a visit from Mommy's friend Lindsay, who drove 3 hours out of her way during a trip to Austin to come meet Will.

It was so, so good to spend some time with her, and Will was perfectly content in her arms the entire time she was here.

On Sunday, Will had his first trip to church and slept through the entire service.

We had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday and were pleased to learn that he had gained 7 ounces since his last visit on the prior Tuesday, so he was almost back up to his birth weight. We have a scale at home borrowed from the lactation center at the hospital, and he's continued to gain a little every day.

Thanksgiving was at our house this year, and family started arriving on Tuesday. Our first guest was my niece, Kristin, who is a freshman at Texas State. Everyone else arrived on Wednesday - my sister ("Aunt La La") and her husband Robert, her son Jordan and his fiance, Kate, and my brother, Curtis, and my nephew Chris. It was a full house, but we were glad that everyone was able to come our way this year since it is too soon for us to travel.

Claire had a blast "helping" her granddad and Robert make the dressing - I think she put as much toast in her mouth as she did in the pan.

She also got an early Christmas present from Aunt La La and Uncle Robert - a Weeble treehouse. She loves it, and we all already have the music burned in our brains. :)

Our Thanksgiving meal was wonderful with great food and great company. We are so blessed!

Will's First Week

On November 18th, Will was one week old.

Just like with Claire, we are planning to take a weekly photo of Will in the glider with the elephant, although this time I added Will's Cookie Monster that he got from Big Sister.

So, how did the first week go?

• We were home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon, and Robert, Dad and Claire managed to make it to church on Sunday morning.
• Dad left on Monday, and Mom was invaluable in getting up with Claire and helping get her ready for school, holding Will so I could get some naps, washing bottles, doing dishes, and just in general taking care of us!






• Claire was amazing, showing no real signs of jealousy. It's been obvious that keeping her in school during this time was the right decision. I'm able to get up and spend an hour or so with her in the morning and then be there for her when she gets home until she goes to bed. I know that I am better able to really "be there" during those times by having time to focus on Will and catch up on sleep during the day. She gets excited to see Will every morning and evening, loving to give her "Bubba" kisses and feet tickles.











Claire's also been enjoying the treats we've been getting this week:






• Will started sleeping for a 3-4 hour stretch at least once per night, which makes a big difference. Can't wait to see that go to 5, 6, 7 hours. :)
• He got his first bath at home, and he was not a fan.







• His first big outing was on Monday to see the pediatrician (our pedi doesn't have privileges at the hospital where I delivered, so we went to see him as soon as possible). Other than needing to re-gain some weight, everything looked great.
• We went back to the pedi on Tuesday for his circumcision, which went as smoothly as possible.
• Although we were having to supplement with formula, he nursed well and didn't show any confusion due to the bottles. He loves to eat, and the only time he gets really upset is when he's hungry.

Overall, going from 1 to 2 has been a huge adjustment, as we knew it would be, but things seemed to go as well as possible, and we are thrilled to have Will at home with us!

Will & Claire Meet

Once we were settled into our room, Robert and Dad went to pick up Claire. We were hopeful that she would be well rested, and fortunately her teachers made sure that she was well rested!

When they first came in the room, she seemed a little apprehensive but curious.

We thought it would be a good idea for Claire to have a gift for Will and vice versa. Robert and I had taken Claire to the store Wednesday evening, and she picked out a Cookie Monster doll for him.

She was thrilled with the Elmo doll from Will.

After a few minutes, she was ready for a closer look...

...and then excited to finally meet the baby brother we'd been talking about for so long!

It was a beautiful beginning to what I hope is a wonderful friendship between our two precious, precious children.

***Thank you to Penny for all of the photos!***

Introducing William James

Our sweet son, William James, arrived at 12:40 pm on November 11th weighing in at 8 lbs 11o z and measuring 21.5 inches in length.

The Birth Story
Having a scheduled C-section is such a different experience! The surgery was scheduled for 12 pm, and I was instructed to arrive a couple hours early. Robert and I took Claire to school that morning, finished getting our things together, and got to the hospital around 10. It was so strange to just walk into Labor & Delivery and tell them I was there to have my baby!

We were put into one of the triage rooms, and things got started pretty quickly - IV, fluids, medical history, fetal monitoring, etc. I'd been having some mild contractions, and they were starting to get a little more intense, so it was interesting to be able to watch them on the monitor. I think Will knew it was time for him to come out! The anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself, and we were both surprised to recognize each other from A&M - we didn't know each other very well, but had lots of mutual friends. Ultimately he was called away for an emergency and one of his partners worked on my C-section, but it was fun to see a familiar face.

A little after 12 they took me back to the OR to prep me. Everything was so calm, but I was starting to feel a little anxious. With Claire's C-section, it was all so rushed that I didn't have time to think about it, but this time I had more time to take in everything. The anesthesiologist started my spinal block (I had an epidural with Claire, so this was also new), and he and the nurse kept telling me how great I was doing, but it really wasn't very painful. After it was administered, they tilted the table so my head was lower than my feet, and I started to get pretty nauseous - the combination of the medicine and not eating for more than 12 hours was getting to me. I told him I was about to get sick, and he quickly got some medicine in my IV that took away the nausea.

It was so weird feeling my body from my chest down go numb, and I didn't enjoy it. Fortunately Robert was able to come in about that point, and it was so good to see him!

The procedure itself seemed to go pretty quickly, and Robert kept peeking around the drape to tell me what was going on. My doctor was also talking to me and telling me that things were going well. Pretty soon we heard a little cry - Will was here! They brought him around so that I could see him before taking him to the warming table to clean him up. I could see him from the operating table, so I was able to watch until they brought him back over. It was such a sweet moment to finally be able to touch that precious face and kiss my son!

A few minutes later he and Robert headed off to the nursery while they finished stitching me up. My doctor and her partner said several times that everything from my previous C-section looked excellent - she told me "You could have 10 more babies if you wanted too!" I don't, but it was good to know that everything had healed so well. :) I was sent to recovery and was feeling pretty woozy and tired from the drugs. I sent Robert, Mom and Dad to get something to eat while I rested. The nurses had just given me a room number and were about to take me to the post partum room when they got back, so we all went to my room, and Will was brought to us a little later.

I was anxious to try to feed him, and I was so excited when he quickly latched on. We've had a few small struggles in that area, but overall it's going well, which is such a relief. It was just so wonderful to finally hold him in my arms after carrying him for 39 weeks, and to see that face that I'd been imagining for so long.

Robert and Dad went to get Claire, and Penelope got there soon afterwards to be able to take some photos of Claire meeting her little brother. She was a little apprehensive at first, but quickly wanted to get in the bed with us, touch him and kiss him. (I'll put the photos of their introduction in a separate post.)

We had a birthday cake for Will and my dad, who now share the 11/11 birthdate. Since I was not tolerating my liquid diet very well, I had to wait until I got home to have a piece. Recovery went well, though, and I was back to my normal appetite by lunch the next day. We were able to leave the hospital on Saturday, and we were ready to get home and start our lives as a family of four!

39 Weeks and D(ue) Day -1

Today I am 39 weeks pregnant and look like I have stuffed a basketball under my shirt:

At this point, I've gained right at 35 pounds, which is just within my goal. The guideline for someone of a healthy weight is 25-35 pounds, and since I have to eat during the first trimester to keep from getting sick, I tend to start gaining early rather than losing weight due to being sick. So, for me, I think the higher part of the range is reasonable. Plus, I gained 42 pounds with Claire and know that some of those should be attributed to too much queso and cake, so I'm really happy with where I've ended up. I have very little swelling and can still wear my wedding and engagement rings and fit into all of my shoes. :) The swelling was bad the past couple of weeks, but now that I've started my maternity leave and am not sitting at a desk all day, it's pretty much gone away. It's funny to me that being up and doing things helps so much! I'm feeling really good for this point - I'm just glad that I've been able to get so much done.

From the beginning, I wasn't sure if I would go for a repeat C-section or try for a VBAC. After discussing it with Robert and my doctor, we decided that we would schedule the C-section right around 39 weeks, and if I went into labor before then, we would see how it went. Since my C-section is scheduled for tomorrow (eek!) and I'm showing no signs of labor, as expected, it looks like that is the way things will go. So, we will meet Baby L2 tomorrow! It's really surreal to know the exact day and time that this baby will arrive, but it's been nice to have a "deadline."

Mom and Dad are coming today to be here for the big day and to stay with Claire while R and I are in the hospital. It's such a blessing that they are able to work around our schedules so easily! I am spending D Day -1 finishing up the nursery, getting the house in order (fortunately I was able to find someone who is doing all the deep cleaning right now while I update the blog and work on my other projects!), and just trying to get a little rest before the sleepless nights begin.

I would like to ask you to please keep us in your prayers tomorrow, specifically that:

• God's hands will be on the doctors and nurses, and the procedure will go smoothly and free of any complications,
• Baby L2 will be strong and healthy,
• My recovery will be quick and easy as possible,
• Claire will fall in love with her little brother and be able to adjust to going from being an only child to a big sister as smoothly as possible,
• Nursing will go easier than it did with Claire, and
• That we will be able to maintain positive attitudes during the period of sleep deprivation!

The next post should be an introduction of our son - how crazy is that!

Last weekend

This past weekend was our last one as a family of 3! Kind of hard to believe. We spent most of Saturday running some last minute errands, doing things around the house, and getting things ready for the baby. Claire is really fascinated by all of the baby equipment, and I think we may have a few fights on our hands. It doesn't help that she can still fit into some of the items. She finds the baby papasan chair that we just inherited from Team McCormick especially comfortable:

After church on Sunday, we drove to Austin so that I could got to a baby shower for my friend Jennie. Jennie is one of my friends from Dallas, and I was so happy that there was a shower close enough (and before my due date) that I could attend.

I can't wait to meet Baby P! Before the shower, we had time for burgers (and a hot dog for Claire) at Hut's and a quick trip over to Zilker Park to ride the mini train. The weather was perfect, and Claire loved waving at everyone we passed by. While I was at the shower, Robert took Claire on a little tour of the UT campus. I think it's time for a trip to College Station - she's getting a little too comfortable with Austin!

Robert and Claire picked me up after the shower, and we ran up to Ikea in Round Rock to try to find a chair for Claire's room to replace the glider that would be moving to the nursery. She enjoyed trying them all out, and we found one we thought would work. She seems to enjoy it - here she is watching Elmo in the living room before we moved it into her room:

It was a typical weekend for us, and it was so nice to get in some good family time before things get super hectic around here in a few days!