I'd like to write succinctly about how we're doing, but that's impossible.  All things considered, we're doing great.  I'll try for some bullet points...

• Allen has had nice pink skin since he was born.  His eyes were very dark at first but they've lightened to blue.  The shape of his eyes was very similar to Hollie's, but now he's not quite the same.  His hair was also very dark and has gotten to a much lighter brown.  Eyebrows and eyelashes have started to show up, but they're very light colored - you have to look close, but they're there!  The consensus, if you can call it that, is that it's very hard to tell who he'll look like at this point.

• He is a good eater!  At his first appointment with the pediatrician at one-week of age, he had surpassed his birth weight (after dropping to 8lbs. while in the hospital) and was 8 lbs 11oz.  The doc referred to him as a moose! 

Recognize the outfit, Mom?

• Daniel's parents were here to help, and just left last week.  I don't know where we would be without them!  Tonight I'm cooking dinner myself for the first time since Allen was born.  

  

• Hollie looooves holding him, and she does a wonderful job!  When we took him to school for her to introduce him to her class, she carried him by herself around the circle to let all the kids meet him up close.  The kids were very intrigued and had lots of interesting questions...about his teeth (someone was convinced he had at least one already), eyes (which, to their disappointment, did not open while we were there), and  whether I had another baby on the way (with a prolonged glance at my belly).  Hollie is already so independent at home that this really hasn't been a big adjustment for her.  She just seems truly happy that he's here!

• Blake, on the other hand.  She has always been a little love-bug, needing lots of physical closeness, and we were well aware of that and worried about how things would go after Allen was born.  Overall she's been doing great - still sleeping well (isn't that the best indicator for everything?), and very interested in and [mostly] gentle with the baby.  She's just starting to use his name, but mostly he's still just "beebee!"  I think she's been watching me burp him, because whenever she gets a chance she gives him a bunch of good thumps on the back (or belly...or head...).  She also sometimes gets anxious when I feed him.  Even if she was busy with something else, if she notices me sitting down to nurse him, she comes right over and wants to cuddle as close as possible.  Most of the time this is good enough, but occasionally she gets pretty frustrated that she can't be in my lap.  I've made a conscious effort to give plenty of hugs and kisses the rest of the time, and I know she's going to be fine. 

• He's a decent sleeper, which is a lot to say for a two-week old!  He seems to be alternating good nights and bad nights, which is exactly what both of the girls did.  I have a theory that newborns (at least mine) operate on an 18-hour cycle: six hours of wakefulness with lots of little naps, and twelve hours of sleepiness interrupted by waking to eat.  So, every other cycle, that six hours of wakefulness lands during the hours I'd like to be sleeping.  It's really not bad when you just accept it, and on that note...

• The amount of stress we have felt after this birth is virtually nil compared to the other two.  First of all, my recovery has been (or rather - was) very easy and my pain was minimal.  I remember when Hollie was fussy or had a bad night in those first few weeks, oh boy, it was the end of the world!  When she slept a lot during the day, I was terrified that she wouldn't sleep at night and went to great lengths (often in vain) to keep her awake.  I didn't know how to handle it, and I didn't know how quickly those weeks would go by and her sleep would sort itself out.  By now, I KNOW it, truly, honestly, deep down, and it doesn't bother me when he sleeps all evening, wakes up, and then we don't get to sleep until 1 or 2 am.  He's so much happier when he sleeps when he wants to, and for now, that's the way it should be!   

• You might be wondering how I found the time to write all this!  Unfortunately Hollie has been very sick last night and this morning, so we are laying low today and watching some movies.  We were in the car most of yesterday afternoon/evening, and attended an event at which she ate quite a few chocolate chip cookies.  Her stomach has still not quite settled, poor girl.  Despite being up half the night with a bucket, she woke up very early this morning.  I brought her downstairs, got her some water, and went back up to get her some clothes, as it was a little chilly.  When I came back down, I found her curled up on the floor behind the table under Daniel's jacket!  

She was awake at the time, but I convinced her to move to the couch where she immediately went to sleep, still under the jacket, still without clothes.

• The event we attended last night?  Well, we found out a few months ago that our OB-GYN has had quite a unique career: he used to be an engineer for NASA and helped design and test the EMU (extravehicular mobility unit ...aka spacesuit) used for the Apollo missions.  He was part of mission control for Apollo 11, monitoring the suits during the moonwalk.  He has an awesome photo taken from the back of the control room - everyone is facing the big screen watching Armstrong take his first steps on the moon, except one guy who looking the other way, glued to his computer screen watching the spacesuit monitors!  His work inspired him to get a master's in physiology - he intended to continue work on the EMU, but somehow ended up going to medical school instead and becoming an obstetrician.  We couldn't be happier that he did!  He's a fantastic guy, and I've realized that I'm going to miss going to see him every week!  Is it weird to say that about your doctor?  :)  Anyway, the event last night was a presentation he does every year about the work he did on the EMU including some video taken during testing (Google "vomit comet" or "parabolic flight").  He even has video of him testing the suit himself, specifically the little hole in the helmet where they put in a little water gun thing when they needed a drink.  In the video, his tongue ends up getting sucked into the straw and stuck, and he tries for several hilarious minutes to reach the necessary button.  He also brought along autographed photos and lots of other memorabilia   We took Hollie and Allen with us, but we knew Blake wouldn't be able to sit still, so we left her with a sitter...our realtor!  We've realized lately what incredible, talented, generous people we have met here in Seattle.  Our OB-GYN, our realtor...and it was our pediatrician who told us about the sushi place that became our all-time favorite!  Makes us wonder who else is out there!

He's here!

Allen Robert Leger

Born Monday, April 15th at 12:37pm

8 pounds, 7 ounces

20 inches

 

We came home yesterday and have been slowly settling in.

More to come!

The effects of a sleepless night before the scheduled induction of a very pregnant mama

First of all, let me apologize for the pregnancy updates being few and far between.  I am 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant today, and I was scheduled to go into the hospital this morning for a gentle induction ("was" scheduled...you'll see why).  The last month or so of this pregnancy has been much tougher on me, physically, than the last months of other two pregnancies.  There's the usual stuff, like not being able to get comfortable at night, little ones still wanting to be held and needing to be lifted into the car, not being able to stand straight up to the kitchen counter (that's the worst...preparing food, washing dishes...everything at a 90-degree angle), but with the added discomfort of lots...and lots...of contractions.  Usually just little ones, but sometimes really good ones.  All day, every day for at least the last month.  Never frequent enough to be real labor, but enough to sometimes stop me in my tracks at the grocery store, interrupt the flow of the morning routine and bedtime routine, and, by the way, get me dilated to 3 cm as of my 39-week check-up.  Ever since our doctor in Wichita convinced us to induce my labor for Hollie, I have really wanted to experience spontaneous labor, but this has been ridiculous, and when we discussed it with my (current) doctor I just felt like I couldn't take another day.  So, we scheduled a slot for this morning to meet at the hospital to try a gel medication that could hopefully give me a little jump-start.      

Last night, Abuelita arrived and the overjoyed kiddos were allowed to stay up late for some extra playtime.  When it was finally time for bed, they passed out and Daniel and I stayed up even later talking with her, until about midnight.  Then I had to finish packing my bag for the hospital (can you tell this is my third?) and doing a little last minute clean-up until Daniel forced me to come to bed at about 1:00 (I was anxious and probably would have stayed up all night).  After what seemed like only an hour or so (I didn't actually check the time) Blake, who sleeps through the night 99 nights out of 100, woke up and came into our room crying.  I gave her a drink of water and, as usual, that did the trick and she was asleep again quickly.  But then she woke up again, and again, and again.  It seemed like she was back every half hour.  I didn't put her in bed with us because I didn't want to risk it becoming a habit right before bringing home a new baby.  Instead I kept taking her back to her own bed.  Hollie slept soundly the whole time.  

I must have gotten some sleep at some point, because let me tell you, I had the epitome of ridiculous, unbelievable pregnancy hormone dreams.

In the dream, it was really the night before my induction and we were staying with a friend (whom I can't remember) at a big, gorgeous mansion on a farm (which I've never been to) back in Wichita.  During the night there was a big storm, which woke up the kids several times (ha) and made the rest of us adults concerned about flooding in the morning.  We ended up sleeping through our alarms and waking up at 9:46 am.  We were supposed to be at the hospital at 8:00, but rather than call we just drove there anyway, as fast as we could.  The hospital had some kind of band convention going on, and we passed a table for the community band that I had played for in Wichita (true).  At the table were two members of the band whom I remember only by sight, and as they started to introduce themselves they recognized me, too.  By this point Daniel had gone on to find our doctor.  Then I noticed three younger guys at the table that I had known in high school marching band.  The first was a very creepy guy that I had never liked, and he came right over with his saxophone and started trying to make conversation while poking the mouthpiece of his saxophone into my ear!  I pulled myself away by saying hello to the other two guys - brothers, who I also hadn't liked a whole lot but were preferable company to the other guy.  Then I noticed, on the other side of the room, my doctor, Daniel, Abuelita, and a few other people sitting around in some arm-chairs and talking.  I went over to find that the other people were also patients who had been late, and they had just been chit-chatting and making small talk.  As I walked over, my doctor wrapped up the conversation, telling us that we would all just need to be rescheduled, and then the other people left.  Then my doctor, Daniel, Abuelita, and I (and the kids may have been there, I can't remember) decided to sit around the table in the middle and pray, in silence.  At some point I opened my eyes and saw a small glass cup on the table in front of me, and a pitcher of milk on another table behind the chairs....and I instantly became so angry...that I had overslept, that I had gotten stuck talking to people I didn't like, and that meanwhile everyone else was sitting around laughing and enjoying some milk and (presumably) cookies.  I lost it, picked up the glass, and smashed it on the table!  Amazingly, I saw a little reaction to the sound on everyone's face, but no one opened their eyes or said anything.  I felt much better, but still angry.  

The end!  Whew.

Anyway, five minutes before my alarm was set to go off this morning, the phone rang...it was the hospital, letting me know that the rooms had filled up overnight and we were going to have to call our doctor to reschedule.  I went back to bed, told Daniel the news, tossed and turned for a few minutes, and then got back up to write this post.  I'm still too wired to sleep, but I guess I should probably try.

Well, I suppose we have a second chance for spontaneous labor!  

Photo post!

Post-massage update:  I was warned about nausea after a massage, especially your first, as toxins that have accumulated in your muscles are released back into your blood.  And...it's true.  Bleh.  :(

On a happier note...picture catch-up!

We arrived early for school on a very windy afternoon.  

It's hard to tell, but there is a little rain coming down, too.

When the wind really kicked up, they opted to wait the last few minutes inside the lobby.

These days, she is all princess.

Part-time engineer, as well.

Hollie told me she sorted her markers into "girl colors" and "boy colors".  She only uses the girl colors, and they are stored separately.  Recently found out that she does this at school, too!

We recently had our spring conference with her teacher, which of course was all great news.  The other kids love her, she keeps very busy, and is always ready for new things.  I had Blake with me, and we got her set up with some of the materials just like on Hollie's birthday, and Miss Cindy was impressed by how long she sat working on it!  

These kids really do love building blocks of any kind.

Hollie must have told a pretty funny joke!

Aww...big kiss!

Some funny faces outside...

Daniel's parents sent us a new outfit for the baby boy...unfortunately Blake assumed it was for her and was determined to wear it!

More funny faces...

Blowing bubbles

Now, Daddy was standing behind me making faces back at her!

They were, apparently, riding on the school bus.

Just back from a trip to the grocery store.  Blake stacked all the cans herself!

She didn't want to stand by it for a photo, but Hollie was very proud of her.

Came across a giggling bag sitting in a box...

Look who I found inside...without any clothes on!

She was just sitting in there, playing with some little packages of velcro I had gotten to replace the old velcro on the diapers.

All packed and ready for...something!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

These McLegers loved their corned beef and cabbage.

Generally the weather has been warming up, but a couple weeks ago we got some unexpected snowfall and had to unpack all the snow gear again!

As you can see, by the time we got outside it was already melting.  By the end of the day, there were just a few spots left, where people had built little snowmen or or just piled it up.  I'm so glad we enjoyed it while we could!