Miles {1 month}

This kid is one month old (ok, 6 weeks upon this posting but who’s really counting besides me).  I was wanting an “official” weight before posting and got it this morning.  We don’t have his official appointment until next week, but Miles is a part of a U of I study called Illinois Strong Kids and he had his 6 week visit today where they weigh him. (side note – if you’re having a baby soon here in C/U you should sign up for this study!  Every visit they do comes with gift card!)

He’s 12 lbs, 4 oz!  Holy cow, no wonder he’s in size 2 diapers and in 6 month clothing.  I had to exchange several packs of diapers that were too small.  I’ll admit I was a bit sad packing away his untouched 0-3 clothes as I didn’t get to cuddle a small newborn for very long.  But I’m so thankful he’s healthy and a great eater!Eating: He’s a great nurser and is getting on a good eat, play, sleep pattern.  He takes a bit longer to eat than my first two did and definitely has to eat from both sides.  He is an awesome burper when he’s done.  Thankfully, his little body is dealing just fine with the copious amounts of caffeine I’ve been drinking. :)Sleeping:  Knock on wood, he seems to be a better sleeper than my first two.  But he HAS to be swaddled.  If he so much gets a fingertip out of the swaddle, all bets are off and he’s screaming.  We even use the swaddle blankets in the car seat to make those rides more enjoyable for all of us.  Having firm pressure also is the best way to calm him as opposed to bouncing or rocking.  Day naps are falling into a 5 nap “routine” and his bedtime is slowly moving up.  He usually goes down between 8-9 and sleeps until about 1 (twice he made it until 2:30!).  But from them until the morning, he’s usually awake every hour or two.  Because Owen and Ellie still get up in the night (ugh) William is in change of those two and I focus on Miles.Random info:  He has an adorable dimple on his left cheek (just like his sister).  His first 3 weeks, he HATED diaper changes but I think that’s starting to get better.  He loves his pacifier.  His eyes are blue/gray and definitely lighter than the other kid’s.  Still not sure if they’ll go brown like there’s though or stay in the blue family like mine.
How we’re all doing: Well, in general I’d say really well.  I think I was a bit worried about the transition to 3 from everyone who keeps saying “you’ll be outnumbered.”  “You’re going from man-to-man defense to zone defense, etc.”  But so far, it’s felt pretty doable!  Yes, you just need to plan an extra 45 minutes or so to get out the door.  That means packing up the extra stuff and fitting in a feeding.  But I’ve gotten out by myself quite a bit with all 3.  Just not grocery shopping.  That’s happening in the evenings now with just Miles in the Ergo carrier.  For me 1 to 2 kids was harder than 2 to 3.  I also like that Owen and Ellie can play (and fight) together while I’m occupied nursing.

Bed time is hard.  With 2 older kids that have a hard time going to sleep and staying asleep, William and I both dread this time. 

Owen loves him and gives him kisses, but isn’t too interested in holding him.  Ellie loves giving him a pacifier, but whoa is she needy!  I kind of figured she’d be the hard one and that’s proven true.  She’s whinier and needs to be held all the time!

Oh one other thing.  I felt like my bonding took a little more time with Ellison than it did with Owen.  Maybe it was just learning how to give 2 kids what they need.  But with Miles it was instant.  Maybe it was watching him being wheeled away to the NICU without me.  But wow if I didn’t fall instantly and completely in love with this little guy.So in general, I love it.  I love that while before, William and I each could have a “kid.”  But now we’re a whole team.  And yes, everyone asks if we’re done.  And I don’t have an answer on that quite yet.  But I will say that if I had to answer today, I want 4 and William’s fine with 3.

We love you Miles Grayson Pool!

Some more pictures from our 1 month shoot:    

Miles is healthy!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! ~ Psalm 107:1a

This morning, we got everyone finally loaded up and made the short trek to Peoria.  If you’re wondering, Frozen is the exact length you need to get you from our door to my parents house.  We pretty much drove in silence as I whispered prayers over and over.

We are so so thankful that my parents rearranged their schedules and took time off to watch Owen and Ellison.  Not having to worry about them was wonderful.  When we arrived, they rushed immediately to the basement where the toys are. :)  I nursed Miles, grabbed some food, and William and I headed out to downtown Peoria.  OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Illinois is just about 15 minutes from my parent’s house.  We filled out paperwork and got in pretty quickly.  A nurse took the standard length, weight, and head circumference measurements.  I was thrilled to see that he was already up to 10lbs, 1oz.We waited for awhile in a small exam room and then met the super nice Jen Tarpinian who is a genetic counselor.  Here’s her staff picture more so I remember. :)She started by asking a ton of questions about the pregnancy, birth, and our family history.  All while making little genetic looking diagrams on her paper. :)  When she paused and asked how Miles was doing, I said that he was great, I was the one who was a mess.  She immediately put down her paper and said “while I still need to confer with Dr. Hoganson, the blood work I’ve seen looks fine.”   And cue the Kleenex.  We talked a bit more and she said she would be back in shortly after looking over the last round of blood work results with Dr. Hoganson.

Then the long wait began.  She popped her head back in to ask if we had gotten an urine sample and it was “pending” or we needed to do one today.  I told her how we had done it a say later as the lab hadn’t realized they needed it.  Then a bit later, she came back and said they were doing a large blood draw on a baby next door (hence the screaming we heard) and when it got quiet we could expect to be next.

Dr. George Hoganson came in with Jen and while quirky, he was very kind, knowledge, and easy to understand.  He started by telling us a little more about the newborn screening.  He said that because thousands of infants are screened in the state, there are bound to be cases that pick up borderline kids like Miles.  His metabolism was definitely not all the way matured, as witnessed by his jaundice. This was likely why he had elevated C3 acylcarnitine.  (don’t you like all these fancy new words I’m learning to use?)  He said a lot more big word things too, but I basically tuned as I understood that he was almost “apologizing” for our trip.  Miles was ok.  I tried to hold it together.

I did quickly tune back in when he said that all of Mile's’ blood work had come back in normal ranges and they had tested his urine for ketones and it too, was fine.  He had to do a physical exam while we were there.  We mentioned the cleft palate so while Miles was screaming and giving us a good look, Dr. Hoganson checked it out.  And guess what, more good news.  He said he wouldn’t even classify what Miles has as a cleft palate as he thinks the entire palate is intact.  He threw out a few other suggestions like maybe bifid uvula (although this doesn’t look anything like what I see) or just an indentation in the soft palate, but definitely wouldn’t call it a cleft palate.  He said to follow up with our pediatrician and watch it as he grows.  I’m pretty sure I told him that I wanted to hug him at that point.  At that point, he said Miles looked great and he would be closing Miles’ file with the state.  cue: more tissues.I asked Jen to take a picture of us before we headed out.  She did and then said she couldn’t be happier to close a file and never see us back here.We packed everything up, hugged, called William’s parents and drove in silent happiness back to my folk’s house.  I walked in and simply said “he’s fine” to my dad who burst into tears.  Followed by more tears from my mom.

Thank you Jesus.   It was a good day.

boob strike

Warning – this post talks about breasts.  If that makes you uncomfortable, move on.

We had a slight boob malfunction today.  Because yesterday, for the first time in almost 4 months, this little girl gave in to my pleading and tried her pacifier.  And liked it.  She liked it so much that her normal all-evening-long nursing session wasn’t quite so long.  And add to the problem that she decided for about 30+ hours that she wanted nothing to do with my right boob.So today, I had to take 2 showers and pump several times on that side and was still in excruciating pain most of the day.  But then tonight she decided the right boob wasn’t so bad after all.  And all was right with the world again.  And she took her paci again.  Woohoo!Umm, doesn’t she look like she’s 4 months going on 16 in this picture?   Well, hopefully she’ll have some hair when she’s 16!