Birthdays and Half Birthdays

This month we celebrated Bentley's 3rd birthday and Chance's half birthday. I know parents say this all the time, but I really can't believe he is three. The last year has been so fun. Of course we had the occasional "terrible twos" tantrum, but overall he is laid back and easy going. He has his checkup next week, but by our measurements he is 37 in tall and 28 lbs. He is tall and skinny. He recently started eating a LOT, but has only gained about 3 pounds in the last year. He is a great big brother and loves to make Chance laugh. 

At his 2 year checkup he was referred to speech therapy. We have been going since April and he is talking soooo much now. We understand about 75% of what he says. We just figured he didn't talk much because he has a quiet mommy and he spends all his time with me. It was always so hard for me to talk to him all the time when he didn't respond.                      
                           

He is doing great now with no paci. A couple nights he had a mysterious foot ailment that only appeared at 1 a.m. and would get miraculously better in the morning. I almost took him to the ER one night because he was even limping on it, but Paul talked me out of it because it didn't hurt when we touched it or squeezed it. Either something weird was going on or he's a really really good faker. Now we're just thrown off by daylight savings time. Both boys want to go to bed at 6:30 and wake up at 6; not really my ideal schedule.

We are working on potty training, but trying not to force it too much. He will go several days doing great and then have a day when he wants to wear diapers. We are out of diapers now and I'm refusing to buy more so hopefully we figure it out. I always said my kids would be potty trained well before 3 years old. Ha!

At six months old Chance is a snuggler. He doesn't spend much time on the floor playing because he just wants to be held. He has rolled from belly to back a handful of times, and never from back to belly. Now that he can sit up his favorite thing to do is sit with me and Bentley and play blocks or whatever. He's been getting some baby food mixed with oatmeal, but it's not really his idea of fun. He won't eat any baby food not mixed with oatmeal. He does finally take a bottle occasionally though. I haven't seen any signs of teeth yet, but he drools what seems like gallons daily. He has his checkup the same time as Bentley next week, but he weighs about 18 lbs. He's going to be the same size as Bentley before too long.

I would say that his sleeping is pretty good. He was a much better sleeper a couple months ago, but he still does okay. He sometimes has trouble staying asleep between bedtime and 11 or so and will need rocked several times. After that he usually wakes up to nurse once and then up at 6:30 (again, way too early for me).

Bye Bye Paci

I have alot of things to catch up on here, but for today I am focusing on Bentley and his pacis.

Bentley is paci free! Yes I know he is 7 days away from being 3 years old, but I like sleep. I was not looking forward to many nights of sleeping struggles. The paci had stayed in his bed since he was 9 months old, and it was the first thing he would look for when we laid him down. I always kept 3 or 4 in there so he could easily find one in the middle of the night. The result of that was he had to have one in his mouth and one in each hand.

We started by taking away all but one. He got a hot wheels car for each paci he threw in the trash. After a week of only having one paci, we took him to the store and let him pick out a stuffed animal to trade for the last paci. He wanted to trade but he kept changing his mind when he would actually hand me the paci. Finally I had to tell him that was it and his paci was going bye bye (after back and forth for close to an hour). He cried like he lost his best friend and just looked devastated. He cried at first when we laid him down but I told him he didn't have to go to sleep but he needed to lay down and be quiet. He was quiet and eventually fell asleep.

It's been a little over two weeks and it has been HARD. He has taken a nap maybe 3 or 4 days, depending on how well he slept during the night. Some days he spends 3 or 4 hours in his bed just playing, but never falling asleep. And if he does take a nap, he then has a hard time falling asleep that night. Thankfully he's only had problems in the middle of the night 3 times, but they were all for many hours. Twice he had a mysterious foot ailment that was forgotten by morning, and the other night we both rubbed his back until he was asleep 10+ times only for him to wake up as soon as we left the room. He ended up crying for over an hour asking for "that" (which is what he called his paci). I hope it gets better soon and he goes back to his normal sleeping. He is a much happier and more obedient boy when he gets good sleep (and mommy is much more patient when she gets good sleep).

I'll be doing this again in a few years because Chance is now addicted to his paci. I don't like messing with sleep. If it works, I stick to it. Chance is also still swaddled for naps and night for this very reason, even though he is getting too big for it.

Chance Laughing

I have not been able to make Chance laugh, but Paul and Bentley can do it very easily. So I watch, video, and get jealous that they can make him laugh. Every time he gets so tickled that he gets the hiccups.

Photos by Bentley

Occasionally I get distracted while taking pictures of the boys and leave my camera where a little boy might be able to reach it. If he is in his toy corner being very very quite, I know he has something he isn't supposed to have (usually my cell phone). Recently I found him with my camera, lens cap off, power on, and several pictures taken. How do they know how to work these things? He almost always calls my mom when he gets my cell phone, or sends my sister a text message. Anyway, I thought I would post a couple of his pictures.

                            

3 Months

Time is flying by even faster the second time around. I'm slightly behind on the 3 month post, but these pictures were taken 10 days ago, when he turned 3 months. At 3 months:

• 15 lb. 11 oz. (need to measure length)
• wearing 6 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• still sleeping great, but also still swaddled at night
• smiling and laughing more and more every day (but very hard to catch on camera)
• trying to put everything in his mouth
• still not taking a bottle, but taking a pacifier sometimes (which I've decided to stop offering because I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of Bentley's)
• finally enjoying a little bit of tummy time and lifting his chest up off the floor
• had to get 2 shots, but only cried for a second
• looking more and more like his mommy

This is how we have to get pictures of him smiling or laughing. If he sees the camera he just stares at it and will not smile for anything. He loves it when I play with his feet or Paul makes funny noises at him.

Recap

Paul and Bentley went to see Toy Story 3 today. I didn't get to watch because it was very loud and Chance was not happy about it. Paul said he did very well and just sat and watched.

Apparently there was a monkey who was not a good monkey. Bentley likes monkeys so I think it bothered him a little. This is what he told me about the movie: "Ooh ooh ah ah taped up dog." Translated to: The monkey was taped up by the dog. He talked about it for a good 30 minutes, and also demonstrated how the toy monkey clapped his symbols together while saying ooh ooh ah ah.

Chance is 3 months old now. Three month pictures and post coming soon.

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Neither boy was being very cooperative so this is the only good picture I got.

2 Months

At 2 months old Chance is...

• 13 lb. 11 oz.
• 24 in. long
• wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diaper
• staying awake more and more each day
• getting interested in toys
• sleeping 10 hours at night, only waking to eat once
• loving his big brother
• smiling and cooing (but we really have to work for it)
• much more high maintenance than Bentley was
• still not taking a bottle or pacifier

Chance's Arrival

I tried not to have many expectations of how my labor and delivery would go so that I couldn't really be disappointed when it didn't work out that way. I know enough to know that no matter what, it wasn't really up to me when and how he would make his arrival.

My pregnancy was wonderful (after the 12 week visit drama was over). Everything was smooth sailing except I continually measured big. Ultrasounds showed him measuring around 9 pounds. Not really a big deal but it did make me a little nervous. I mainly wanted to experience going into labor on my own since with Bentley I never had a uninduced contraction. There were lots of other things I had on my birth plan, but this was a big want for me.

Well, I got my wish. On Saturday, May 15 (my due date), I started having contractions at 8 a.m. I had already had two false labor episodes but these felt different. They got closer together and more paiful throughout the day and we went to labor & delivery at 8 that evening. I was having contractions every 5-7 minutes, but I was only 3 cm so they didn't want to keep me. I tried to sleep but woke Paul up crying at 3 a.m. and back to hospital we went. There was no progress so they sent me home again. At this point I was very frustrated and in a lot of pain. I have a pretty low pain tolerance so I thought well maybe I'm just a wuss. Later Sunday morning contractions were still 5-7 min. apart so we headed to the hospital again. We stopped just outside labor & delivery for me to go to the bathroom, and while I was in there my water broke. I was wearing gray yoga pants so I had to walk the rest of the way and into the unit looking like I had majorly peed my pants. I was still only 3 cm but they had to keep me because my water had broken.

Fast forward a bunch of hours of pitocen and I was dialated to 6 cm. Chance's heart rate dropped way low during each contraction and he only liked it when I laid on my right side. My epidural continually wore off and they had to keep giving me more medicine (this happened with Bentley too). I developed a fever so they stopped checking me to avoid introducing even more bacteria. My mom and sister arrived sometime while all this was going on and Paul left me with my mom to go pick up Bentley and take him and my sister to our house. I wrote down every time they checked me so I could later put the timeline in Chance's baby book. Suddenly I felt the worst pain ever and the need to push. The midwife rushed in and I was still only 6 cm. I don't know how long this went on. It felt like 5 hours, but it might have only been 30 minutes. She asked me what I wanted to do. I remember saying I just want to cry. I want it to be over. I give up. So the OB came in to talk to me about a c-section and we waited for Paul to get back.

It all happened very fast from there. Being wheeled to the operating room and so much going on around me. I was so so tired. They had to give me even more epidural medicine and it made me shiver violently. If it wasn't for that I probably would have slept through the whole thing. Chance was born at 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, May 16, almost 40 hours after contractions started. I could barely open my eyes to look at him. They had to take him to the NICU though to get an IV for antibiotics since I had an infection during labor.

I could probably write a whole post about how strange the c-section was for me. After they pulled him out the anesthesiologist said, "there goes her pressure." Someone asked what it is and she says 80/40 and then starts massaging the arteries in my neck. I remember thinking this is it, I'm dying. But no one was really acting concerned or panicky so I figured it was okay. Paul watched the whole thing and I asked him 100 times "what are they doing now?" It felt like it took forever. I had a cyst on my ovary that they removed and they just kept talking about it. I wanted to say hurry up already. I was shaking so hard the whole time and it was just really annoying me.

Afterward I would think "what if." What if the pain wasn't as bad as I remember? What if I wasn't such a wuss? What if I didn't have to have a c-section? Mommy guilt gets you no matter what. They told me though, as they were pulling him out, that he wouldn't have fit. He never descended into my pelvis, he was just too big. He was also facing up and the wrong part of his head was pressing on my cervix. No matter how he came out we are so thankful to have him here with us, happy and healthy.

Here is our first picture. This shows how tired I was. I was really trying hard to open my eyes and smile.

He was a big boy.

4th of July

We wanted to follow in our San Diego Independence Day tradition and spend the day at the beach followed by watching fireworks over the bay. Problem- it has been COLD. The high was 67. Add the wind coming off the ocean and it feels like winter. We still wanted to go and let Bentley play in the sand though. He had a blast, shivering and all.I didn't get any pictures of the cool sandcastle they built because Chance and I spent the entire time like this...The fireworks were awesome though. Bentley loved it and kept saying "wow mommy, wow daddy" after each one went off. Chance nursed right through them, not bothered at all by the loud booms..

Family of Four

Chance is already 6 weeks old! In some ways it has flown by, and in other ways it feels like it's been forever. I've started a post several times, but I usually only get a sentence or two before I'm needed. After Bentley goes to bed Chance has his fussy time and even showering isn't as important as sleep. Thankfully though Chance is a great sleeper. I was really worried since Bentley was such a good sleeper (up until about 7 months old). Most people say the 2nd child is the opposite of the first. Bentley on the other hand has not been sleeping very good. I'll blame it on the 5:30 sunrise.

At 6 weeks our home scale says Chance is 14 lb. I haven't measure his length lately, but 2 weeks ago he was 23 1/4 in. He loves to eat and will not take a bottle or a pacifier. I'm desperately trying to find a bottle he will take. I'm not coordinated enough to nurse without the boppy. He is awake more and more every day. He has given me a few smiles, but I had to work really hard for them.

Bentley is a great big brother. He loves to give Chance kisses and says "my Chance" when he wants to hold him. The only jealousy behaviors I have noticed is him being more clingy and preferring daddy when he is home.

I'm going to try to write out Chance's birth story in the next few days so I don't forget it. I wish I had wrote Bentley's down because I can't remember certain details two and half years later.

After my shower the other night I came downstairs to find this:

Our New Favorite Place

On Sundays we like to drive around and look for fun places to walk or play. We have found several walking/bike paths along the water, and several of them have playgrounds. Last weekend though we found the place. A long stretch of beautiful beach with lots of rocks and sea shells to look at and a cool breeze. We liked it so much we went back this weekend, and I actually remembered to bring my camera.

It's not very busy because it's a surf only beach. There were lots of people surfing, but not many people on the beach. One runner stopped and asked if we'd like a picture of all three of us. It is very rare to see me in any pictures.

I had one lady ask me if I was due any day, and when I told her I have 4 weeks left she asked if it was twins. Maybe it's the stripes, but I'm definately very large.

Bentley's favorite thing is to wait for the waves and then run when they come up. They did this probably 20 times, and he cried when we had to leave.
We had a great time, and everyone had to take a nap when we got home.

The View From Here

32 weeks.

There is some concern that this little guy is going be somewhat large. Hopefully that will not be the case.

Naming Baby

When I found out I was pregnant with Bentley, we knew Paul would be leaving in a few short weeks. We started looking at names right away. I had a list of names I have liked for a while, and they all got vetoed. We would just throw names back and forth whenever we thought of one. One day Paul said "Bentley," and that was just it. We both loved it. We already had a middle name picked out (Ceaf - my dad's middle name and his grandpa's middle name). We never came up with a girl's name, but it didn't matter.

This time I started a list, but we didn't discuss it much. Paul wasn't leaving so we had plenty of time. We didn't really care about any meaning behind the name (Bentley means grassy meadow), just one we both agree on and that sounds good with the middle names we had picked out (family names). Then at my first OB visit at 11 weeks, a nightmare came true. The midwife looked and looked, but there was no baby. I was given three options; to take a pill that day that would induce a miscarriage, schedule a d&c for the next day, or wait. I was in a state of shock, and Paul was not there with me. I said I would wait. That next week was probably the hardest and most confusing week of my life. I was so upset and anxious, but at the same time this little bit of hope would not go away. Nothing happened so I made an appointment to see the midwife again and schedule a d&c. When I went back for the follow-up a different midwife did an ultrasound, and there on the screen was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. A little baby with a beautiful heartbeat just wiggling away.

There is a very simple explanation as to why we didn't see the baby during the first ultrasound, and there are several things the midwife could have done that would have changed the way I felt when I left that first appointment. My bladder was too full. It was a transvaginal ultrasound, so my bladder was blocking the baby. What she saw that she thought was my uterus was just a cyst. Paul and I were both very upset, but the relief we felt overshadowed our anger.

So, the reason I tell this story now, 16 weeks later, is because it made us want a meaning behind this baby boy's name. I kept thinking "what if." What if I had taken this midwife's advice because she knows more than I do, and had gone home that day with a pill that would have aborted my healthy baby. I am beyond thankful that the Lord put doubt in my mind. We feel like he is somewhat of a miracle (although all babies are miracles). We want his name to be a reflection of this story.

Unfortunately I am not going to post what his name is. We have decided, but have not told anyone yet. It may or may not be announced before he is born, but we both love it and are thankful that we get to be this little boy's parents. He is much more active than Bentley was. I could sit all day and poke my belly just to feel him roll away or poke me back.

Baby, Oh Baby

I am now 6 months pregnant. Wow. It has gone by really fast. So far it has been completely different than my pregnancy with Bentley. I hope that trend continues and I don't have the same complications at the end. I'm not getting my hopes up though. I am feeling the need to get everything in order for him just in case I have to be on bedrest or something. Right now we are enjoying feeling and seeing him move around and trying to guess what part of his body we are feeling. Bentley will even put his hand on my belly and kiss it, but I don't think he has any idea why. When I tell him there's a baby in there he lifts his shirt, points to his belly button, and says "me too." I think he is going to be a great brother.