Connor's 2-month Check-Up

Chunky Charlie strikes again. ;-) The pediatrician saw him and called him a "bruiser" because of his size, teasing him about not growing up too fast. She also laughed at how much he wiggled and warned me I was going to have my hands full with a very active toddler. Then, with a glance at the girls who were with me today, assured me I would do just fine. Connor is healthy and growing well (pediatrician's pat on my back for awesome mommy milk, 1lb 12oz in only 3 weeks!). He jumped up a percentile group for his height and weight measurements.

Height: 23.5" (+3" since birth, 75th percentile)
Weight: 13lbs 11oz (+3lbs 14oz since birth, 90th percentile)

I can't even begin to compare his measurements to the girls', who were only about 10-11lbs at this point (height was comparable). If Connor keeps growing like the weed he's currently imitating, he might be heavier than Megan by his 2nd birthday (it doesn't help that Megan is scrawny, still under 30lbs at 3 1/2 years old). People might think he's only a year younger than the girls rather than three years younger!

But, who knows... the girls didn't really reach their actual "growth curve" until 6 months. Only time will tell (just as only time will tell if he keeps his blue eyes or if they turn brown like Cady's did around 1-year).

Urgent Care (+Pictures!)

Last night, as I made dinner, Cadence arranged our four folding chairs and two wooden high chairs into a jungle gym and attempted to climb all over it as I worked on cleaning the kitchen. Since she got down when I told her, I did not immediately swoop in and disassemble the makeshift playplace. Turn my back for a moment, then I hear a hard thumb sound followed by screaming. *sigh* She'd climbed right back onto the chairs and in the process of climbing over the back of one, lost her balance and fell into the TV table.

As I usually do over minor bumps and scrapes, I dutifully moved the hair away from the area she indicated was hurt so I could pretend to scrutinize the non-existent boo-boo and send her on her way so I could return to my original task. Unfortunately, instead of a goose-egg, I saw a fair amount of blood underneath her hair. Great... In the end, the resulting head wound was just big enough (mostly deep enough) I wasn't sure whether to take her in or not. So I called James home to get his opinion (he only had an hour left of his shift). He agreed it was big enough that getting it seen was reasonable, so on to urgent care we went. The doctor cleaned and treated the wound. Even she was on the fence about whether or not to do anything else for it, but in the end we decided on one staple "just in case". If you're curious, picture of the final product can be seen here.

And now, pictures from the past month now that I finally have them on my computer:

Chunky Charlie's 1-Month (6 weeks) Stats

Since coming out half again as big as either of his sisters were at birth, Connor's been kind of stuck with the nickname "Chunky Charlie". Being called by this name is usually quickly followed by kisses on his round cheeks or belly. The "Charlie" actually comes from his middle name. Tsaliroi (Cha-lih-roy) is roughly translated as "Son of Charlie" (can you hear the "Charlie" in his name?), so it is technically his name, albeit, a small part of his name. ;-)

Anyway, he had his 1-month check-up today. He's actually 1 month and 10 days old, but his doctor was on vacation last week and it wasn't super important that we be there "on time", especially since he was seen at 3 weeks and at 4 weeks for weight checks. I was pretty pleased with his 1lb gain in 2 weeks during his weight checks and I wasn't sure whether to expect another pound after such awesome gain. Connor decided to surprise me and the doctor and gained 2lbs in the past 2 weeks. I wasn't entirely sure how unusual it was until the doctor commented on it. His weight wasn't huge for his age, but the total weight gain was impressive.

My heart broke a little when he got his Hep B shot. He was staring up a me, talking a little, completely unaware of what was about to happen and looked so trusting. I saw the shock register when he felt the needle, a full second of staring at me with an expression of "what just happened" before he scrunched up his face and started to cry. He soothed easily enough.

Connor's 6 week stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 15.5 oz (+2lbs 2 oz since birth, 75th percentile)
Height: 22.5" (+2" since birth, 50-75th percentile)

Connor was both heavier and longer than his sisters at about the same age. I only have Megan's stats on hand, but since Connor had an extra 3 weeks in utero to get some of those measurements bulked up, not sure it's fair to compare the two. He's as big as the girls were at 3 months. We'll see if his gain slows down like their's did around the 6-month mark, but I think Connor's got a good start to be as big as James when he's older. Guess we'll see!

Smiles and Sickness

Connor is a day shy of 1 month old and already giving us small smiles. I noticed the first one a little over a week ago, when I picked him up in my arm and smiled down at him and said "Hi, Connor". In response, the side of his mouth quirked in a little half-smile, but since all my google research said 4 weeks was the absolute earliest, I dismissed it. However, we've seen a handful of similar half-smiles over the past week, always in response to myself (or once Cadence) talking to him, so I think we're claiming it as "real" now.

Connor is a very even tempered baby, but he's definitely becoming more alert. We've had a few rough days here as he gets a little fussy and fidgety. This should peak over the next couple weeks and then he'll settle down again and we'll start to see his real personality begin to emerge.

The girls adore their brother. Cadence asks to hold him at least a dozen times a day, even if he's sleeping, and while she refuses to run most errands I send her on ("can you take this to the sink?"), she'll happily do any errand that somehow involves Connor (now to figure out how to make picking up the living room related to Connor...). Megan's just as helpful and loving, but not as capable. She doesn't understand the size difference between herself and her brother and is constantly in trouble for practically laying on top of him and trying to hug him by pulling his closer to her by his head.

A brief update about his weight gain issue: At his 2 week appointment, he was only 9lbs, 13 ounces shy of his birth weight and only 2 ounces larger than he'd been the week before. At 3 weeks, he'd gained another 7.5 ounces, which is great gain for one week but still not his birth weight. So we went in again this past Tuesday and he was 9lbs and 15.5oz. With another 8 ounces under her belt and finally passing his birth weight, the doctor gave us the "all's clear" and we're back to just the normal check-ups.

Unfortunately, while we were carting ourselves around doctor's offices (we also had to take James in on Monday. Unexpectedly, his allergies in Houston are worse than they were in Bakersfield's nasty air), we picked up a virus of some sort. I got his first, Cadence got hit next and poor Connor has a dry cough and I assume his constant need to nurse is in response to a sore throat. Thank goodness it's a mild cold. A little tylenol for the girls, a little extra snuggling for Connor and a few hot showers for me and we're surviving and already on the downside of it.

And while we're here, a picture of Connor at 4 weeks that don't have access to my Facebook:

The Orange Rhino

There's a new tab at the top of my blog. Stop YELLING!

My inspiration? The Orange Rhino. This woman hasn't yelled at her kids for over a year. As of today, she hasn't yelled at her kids in 431 days. I want to be her. Seriously.

One of the things she says to help you achieve your goal is to be accountable. My kids know I'm not supposed to be yelling, but they don't understand the challenge. Instead, I hold myself accountable to my blog readers as well as my kids. I won't be posting on the blog regularly, but I will be updating the page accessed from the tab just under my blog header.

My goal is to go 30 days without yelling. That's not 30 days of trying not to yell, that's 30 days without yelling. If I yell, the counter restarts and I'm back to Day 0.

I'm determined to do this. While I know preschoolers yell because they're hardwired to do so, but I also know that the girls yell more than they should and it's a behavior they learned from me. When they get upset, I see my own bad reaction mirrored back at me. I don't treat them with respect and compassion, so they don't treat others with respect and compassion, at least, not as much as I'd like. When I've made previous attempts to yell less I have noticed better behavior in them as well.

I am hoping 30 days of not yelling will see an improvement in our home all around and we'll all be happier.

30 days. Starting now (well, tomorrow morning, but we're practicing before bedtime).

More Connor Pictures

Since we normally do our family pictures in the spring, but I wasn't sure how that'd work out with Connor (since I'm pretty sure we're doing an outdoor shoot similar to what we did last year), I decided to take Connor to a basic photo studio and just get some cute pictures done. I always kind of feel bad when I pull out a coupon for the photo studios to get a cheap package after the photographer spent some time creating unique images that don't qualify for the discount. Anyway, here's the final results (as usual, the last one is the one I ordered for my wall):

  

Connor (plus) Pictures

The girls barely acknowledged their brother in the hospital when they came to visit the afternoon he roomed with me (they weren't allowed in NICU for obvious reasons), but since coming home, they've become very interested in him. Cadence, especially, is doing great with the big sister thing. She's surprisingly capable while handling him, even able to pick him up entirely and adjust his position on her lap without dropping him. Megan's not quite as capable and requires help or a nearby pillow to prop the other half of him up, but she also loves to hold him when the chance arises.

Connor had his 2 week check up this morning. Doctor says he's doing well. There is some slight concern over his weight gain. He lost almost a full pound between birth and being discharged from the hospital and since then he's only gained 2oz back, coming in at an even 9lbs this morning. We've had some minor issues with nursing, but I think we're finally past the worst of it and he's finally filling diapers they way he's supposed to. We go in next week just to check his weight gain. I'm optimistic we'll have sufficient weight gain to make both myself and the doctor happy.

Connor Tsaliroi

It's taken me a few days to post this update that mostly everyone knows about. I was much better about this with both girls, but coming home this time was a bit more chaotic than the last two times. I was waiting to get my hands on some pictures to make this a pretty post, but pictures will wait until I can get them off various phones and cameras.

Connor Tsaliroi was born March 20 at 2:43pm via schedule c-section.

As posted earlier, the doctor was growing concerned about his size and the risks associated with a VBAC. I also had reached a point of "being done" and was frustrated by the sudden stop in pre-labor symptoms. Even the practice contractions had stopped and I had no labor signs, though I'd had them almost nonstop from 36 weeks until 38 weeks. So, we schedule the c-section for 39 weeks and 3 days, hoping I'd go into labor before then.

Wednesday morning, labor still hadn't started. We packed the last of my hospital bag, put things in the car, did one last load of dishes and headed out. The girls stayed with a friend from church and James and I headed toward the hospital. Things were already behind schedule when we showed up. Turns out everyone else decided Wednesday was a good day to have their babies as well. We spent the better part of 3 hours sitting in the pre-op room. Two hours after my appointment time, I was being wheeled back to the OR for the surgery. It was certainly a different experience. With Megan, they wheeled me back and knocked me out and I woke up an hour later. This time, I was awake. I won't say "wide awake" because once I had the spinal I got incredibly sleepy and nearly fell asleep from the sensation.

I probably amused the staff. The pre-op room was very stuffy and my temperature definitely rose to higher than normal. I was sweating like crazy and then had a major dizzy spell sitting up to take the anti-nausea stuff. While I was attempting to recover from that, they wheeled me into the air-conditioned halls and I felt even more loopy. Combine that with a general lack of sleep and I started rambling and swallowing my own tongue as I talked. Apparently I also got extremely pale while in the elevator, because one of the nurses commented that I had "pinked up" in the OR.

Anyway, Connor was pulled out to a round of "whoa" from the medical staff in the OR and the doctor leaned over to tell me "looks like the c-section was the right choice" (we'd both been rooting for the VBAC option to come to pass). Connor weighed in at 9lbs 12.8oz and cried the entire time, which might have been his downfall. The staff was a little worried about some of the sounds he was making as indicators of a lung issue and sent for NICU to take him. Luckily, one of the nurses realized I hadn't even seen him yet and brought him over for a few quick kisses from me before we were both wheeled out of the OR and separated.

Because they were so busy on Wednesday it took several hours to get me from the c-section recovery rooms to the post-partum rooms and it wasn't until the next morning that I had a doctor come in to see me and explain what was going on with Connor (I'd had a nurse come by and explain he had breathing issues and give me a way to contact them while I was bed-ridden, but the one time I did call there was little more she could tell me other than "he still has problems, but he's doing fine"). The doctor explained Connor had a pneumothorax and that they would be keeping a close eye on him but generally it healed itself in newborns without intervention. If it didn't, they'd do a simple procedure that should help and he'd be fine. So, in the end, it was a concern, but not a life-threatening one. They just had to keep an eye on him.

Once they let me out of bed Thursday morning, I paced my room a few times before I decided I was ready to go to NICU and finally get to see him, though it was after lunchtime before I felt up to it, since NICU was on a different floor than post-partum recovery, so I had to trek out to the elevators, go up a floor and then walk back to NICU. A few times, if I forgot to take my pain medicine or was due for another dose too soon, the trek back was quite painful and slow-going. During my first visit, the head nurse told me he had improved enough that I should be able to try nursing at my next visit (thus far, he'd gone 24 hours with only IV fluids, giving him a puffy look). I was able to nurse him at my next visit and then made periodic visits over the next 24 hours to feed him again until he was released from NICU and taken to my room Friday afternoon.

The girls were able to visit me twice. Both times they were happy to see me and not so happy to leave. The first time, Megan started crying as the elevator doors closed (I'd walked out with them on my way to NICU). The second time, I had to stay in the room with Connor and James had to carry her screaming out of my room and down the hall (yeah, I cried a little).

After one night of rooming with Connor and having a bit of a struggle with nursing once my milk started to come in, we were discharged. Of course, this process took several hours. Thankfully, another friend from church was more than willing to take the girls for the day so we could get through the process without worrying about them. It was a blessing, of course, since the whole thing was delayed by an extra two hours due to a few hiccups on the hospital's end (including somehow messing up my blood test and getting a false positive on my Hep B test). More than grateful to finally be heading home and see the girls again.

It's been a little over 2 days at home and it's been a slow adjustment, trying to fit Connor and his needs and my sleep deprivation into my day to day with the girls. Thankfully, James is off of work for the week to help while I learn some new ropes and relearn the old ones. Next week will probably be the longest week as I adjust to doing it all on my own. It's a blessing that newborns sleep so much, though Connor is proving to be my fussiest sleeper of the three, which is causing some difficulties. I already feel "survival mode" coming on as I consider the lack of schedule that will be my life for the next few weeks (months?). Thank goodness the girls are pretty independent and able to entertain each other, or content to just sit next to me when they're feeling snuggly.

37 weeks & Ultrasound

Just had our 37 week check-up, complete with final growth ultrasound yesterday afternoon. My body is showing no indication that Connor will be coming any time soon, but that doesn't mean he can't make his appearance any day now. So, I guess we'll see. Due to measurements, there's a chance he'll likely be here within the next 2 weeks, one way or another. I don't know the details on that. The doctor and I will be having a long chat at my appointment next week.

Anyway, the ultrasound was pretty standard. There were no concerns over anything other than his size, so other than a quick check for his heartbeat and double-checking his kidney and bladder and taking a peek at the placenta, they took the measurements they needed and I was in and out in 15 minutes. The technician estimated his weight at 7lbs 14oz (+/- 1lb). His head and belly measured the furthest ahead (39 weeks and 41 weeks respectively), so we'll see what he comes out at!

He amused the technician again, happily showing off he was a boy when she went to take a peek. And yes, I have another embarrassing ultrasound picture for the album. ;-) We now have 4 ultrasounds with very obvious boy parts and equally obvious pictures. Connor does not want us to doubt anything, apparently.

Unfortunately, due to his size and position, we didn't get any ultrasound pictures worth sharing. I have some fuzzy pictures of his "face" but with his chin tucked into his chest (which is good!) and his hands covering the rest of his face, all you see is a black blur that is one eye and some gray fuzz that's supposed to be his forehead and part of his nose. If you want cute pictures, go back to this post.

In the mean time, here's one final picture of pregnant me, 37 weeks + 3 days (do I look as tired as I feel?):

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has come and gone with it's usual quiet ease, but we did have some special little tidbits. James bought me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Sadly, they only lasted the afternoon before Megan snatched the three biggest ones and hid under the table to pull the petals off. The rest of the flowers have been safely tucked on the counter, where they don't get seen as often, but at least they're safe from Megan's flower-loving fingers.

As for James, I didn't get him anything special, but the girls happily created "cards" for him. We dug through our little arts and crafts box to find suitable items to use and the girls had fun. Handprints, cardboard tubes rolled to be heart-shaped stamps, crayons, and foam stickers to spell out their names. If you peek in the bottom right hand corner of Cadence's, you'll see where she copied her name. Megan's "heart" stamps are... well, she tried, lol. They both had a blast and they were both so excited to show them to James as soon as he got home (he reacted with appropriate enthusiasm, of course):