Brooke is ONE month!

Now she's actually older than one month, but I finally sat down at the computer!  What lucky parents we are.  She has settled right into this family!  Before she was born I worried about the following things (and more!):

1.  Connor adusting
2.  Having a newborn and an almost two year old and spending time with each
3.  Would she eat well?  sleep well?  cry a lot? 
4.  Managing to get out into public with two kids


The list goes on and on...but these were on my mind daily.  And here's what I've discovered in a month:

1.  Connor's amazing.  He's a natural big brother.  He cares for her deeply, shares with her, loves to help with the bottle and binky, and looks for her when she is out of sight.  He gives her tons of love, pats her on the head and checks to make sure she has her eyes, ears, nose and feet on a very regular basis.  If it's possible, I love him more now that he has settled into his protective role as Big Bro.

2.  This one is still a bit tough sometimes, but 1. seems to help with that.  He usually understands that when I am feeding sister that I can't get up.  Luckily I also have an amazing sitter who has been watching Connor in the mornings to keep his routine and Connor still gets to go play with his friends.  He gets one on one time there with Rachel, and I have gotten to bond with Brooke in her first month of life in a way that I'm not sure would have happened without Rachel's help.  I also happen to be married to an incredible man who works all day, yet still comes home with the energy to play with Connor or snuggle with Brooke, whichever is the most in need at the time.  My friend from Stroller Strides, Sara, gave me great advice when I was still pregnant to try to spend time with just Connor whenever I can.  Luckily, since Brooke is a great sleeper, I have been able to still do so.  I feel like Connor and I are as close as ever, but that he is also becoming more social and feels comfortable asking others for help or love.  This one will always be on my mind!

3.  Yes, Yes, and No!!  Whew!  I don't know how I lucked out with two such mellow, laid back babies, but I did!  Brooke immediately nursed within 10 minutes of birth and hasn't stopped since!  She latches well, which has made my milk supply plentiful.  I've been able to store a nice stash of pumped milk in the freezer too!  I'm hoping to nurse/pump as long as possible!  I enjoy our time while she eats...listening to her little sounds and watching her beautiful eyes as she falls asleep.  She's my last baby, so I guess I'm taking every moment in.  She sleeps so amazingly well too.  She has gotten into a routine of going to sleep at 8:00 after about 2 hours of fussiness.  Even her fussiness isn't bad.  She just fights going to sleep.  We use a humidifer that also provides white noise, and a Miracle Blanket (how did we every do without that when I had Connor.  Throw away your SwaddleMe's and get the Miracle Blanket!!!) to swaddle her when I lay her in her crib.  She goes to sleep without a pacifier.  The combo of the white noise and swaddle is working!  Then she sleeps until around 2:00 am when she wakes up for her feeding.  Connor is still using the glider, so I come out into the living room to change and feed her.  Then, it's back in the swaddle!  At this point, she's up a couple hours later, and I feed her and then sleep with her on the couch.  Otherwise she grunts and groans for the next couple hours.

4.  I have this down now!  Woohoo!  Connor always opens the garage door, I set Brooke down in the carseat, get him in (he likes to buckle) and then take Brooke around to my side and get her snapped in.  Connor used to like to be carried out, but he's gotten used to this now.  As for outings, I finally got my BOB Duallie.  I LOVE IT!!!  It took a little convincing on Ryan's part.  He wasn't sure it would handle as well and be too big.  But we quickly figured out that having Brooke in my Ergo wouldn't be the easiest to always do, so we sold the single on craigslist and put that toward my double.  It's fantastic!  I have the carseat adapter for Brooke, and Connor loved being right next to his sis.  So now, a month later, I've mastered the exit strategy with both kids.  I can't wait to use it for running soon!  I'm getting used to my diaper bag being filled with necessities for both kids too.  So far it's easy since I don't need formula and many bottles.

Ok, those were my main concerns, and I feel much better now a month later!  Now, onto just Brooke.  Here are her one month stats:

8 lbs 13 oz
21.5 inches long

Solely nursing, but also drinking from a bottle
Still fits into newborn clothes-0-3 month is still too big!
Just switched to size 1 diapers at night, still using newborn during day
Her "firsts" this month:
*trip in the car
*Dr's appointments (including newborn screening)
*Restaurant visit: Mimi's Cafe
*Pictures-by Rachel Janssen Photography
*Trip to the park (walked with me in the carrier)
*Birthday Parties! Daddy's 30th and Brother's 2nd, and Unbirthday present. :)
*Umbilical Cord fell off at 2 weeks old
*Night in the crib at almost 3 weeks
*Real bath at 2 weeks and 2 days
*Shopping trip with her friend, Kamryne and my friend Erin (they are 5 weeks apart!)
*Halloween!  Wore a onesie that said "Daddy's Little Pumpkin" and went to Pumpkin Patch
*ride in the double stroller the day before she turned 1 month at the outlet malls!

She's finding her hands and getting them to her mouth on a more regular basis, but those hands are also waking her up and making her quite fussy during the day.  She grunts and kicks her feet when she's upset, and lets out some very cute warning sounds before she gets to screaming.  Even her angry, hungry scream is cute.  I'm letting her sleep on me during the day, especially in the morning when it's just her and I.  I love smelling that wonderful baby smell and listening to all of her little sleepy sounds.  How quickly we forget what those are like, and how quickly they disappear!

It's bittersweet-I can't wait to see what the next month will bring, but I don't want her to grow!  I do look forward to smiles, giggles and more!

Connor's 2nd Birthday!

My little man turned TWO on November 2nd.  I officially have a toddler.  Whew!  As I woke up to take his birth minute picture (Ryan thinks I'm crazy, but as long as he lives in my house, he will have his picture taken at 3:24 am every year!).  And yes, I cried.  I thought back to the night he was born, reliving how the day and night went, and how I felt when I officially became a mom.  I love this little boy more than I can even say and am so incredibly privileged to be his mommy.  He has taught me patience, how to live in the moment, have fun with the smallest things and to remember to stop and enjoy the little things in life like seeing an airplane in the sky or a bug on the ground.  His smile can light up a room, and his eyes-oh those eyes!!  There is something magical about his eyes.  I think we're in trouble when he's older!  We made sure to celebrate his two years with us over the course of a couple of days because he deserves it!

Here are his 2 year stats:
26.8 Pounds
(I can't remember height-now I have to call the dr!)
Size 2T shirts
Size 18 month pants
Size 4 diapers
Size 6W shoes
Finally likes something other than Baby Einstein: Elmo's World and Thomas
Loves his pal, Sammi
Is an amazing Big Brother-loves his sister already so much!
Still in his crib-big boy bed coming in the next few months
Loves racquet balls, or if there is a choice of colored balls, blue.
Loves building with the mega blocks
Loves being outside whenever possible
Loves to rock and read books before going to bed
Sweetheart-he really is my little lover boy!  Loves kisses and cuddles!

First, Aunt Jennie flew in from Florida to be here for the big day.  How cool is that! Connor LOVES Aunt Jennie-she spends a lot of time on the floor playing with him, so he was a happy camper.  Especially since the past month, I've been so occupied with his new sister!  The morning of his birthday, he woke up to donuts.  (we always had a birthday donut with a candle as kids, so I've carried that on!)  He had two candles in his donut, and we started to sing "Happy Birthday" but he kinda freaked out.  He's not a fan of loud singing, or maybe just bad singing.  But when he got to eat his donut, he was happy-as you can tell!

Then he got to have one present, which is his new Leap Frog birthday cake that actually lets you blow out the candles! I was hoping it would help him with his fear of singing the happy birthday song and help with counting...so far, so good!



He got to spend the morning with Rachel and his friends and then had a special Sonic birthday lunch that we took to Nana at work.  He was so excited to see her!  After his nap and some play time, we ordered pizza, one of his favorites, from Pullano's!  What a fun day!

His birthday party was planned for that weekend.  I had planned it before I had Brooke and because I wasn't sure when I was going to have her, I invited family only to Rio Vista Park.  That way I wouldn't have to clean my house after just having a baby and because I knew the kids of all ages would enjoy the place.  It's beautiful there!  We were able to get a ramada right by the pond, so the ducks came to visit often.  I decorated with an Elmo theme since he's recently taken a liking to him.

We had sub sandwiches, crackers, cheese, grapes and the cutest cake!  Ryan's mom got his cake from Bakerwee (a family fave!) and they did an amazing job!  The little Elmo on the top turns into a spork for him to use while eating his birthday slice.  The Sesame Street decorations were rings that the kids could wear.  I loved it and it was a big hit!

Then it was present time!  He wasn't too interested in opening his presents, so Ryan and I had the pleasure of doing it for him.  He was spoiled!! He's set on winter clothes (ps-he looks adorable in jeans and long sleeved t's!), a train set, Thomas tent and toys, educational toys to help him talk, and of course, some trucks! 

It really was a fantastic day-beautiful weather and surrounded by people that love him the most!  He's grown so much in the past year and I can't wait to see what the year brings to him!  Happy second birthday little man!  We love you so much!!!

Ryan's 30th Birthday

I'm behind on my blogging...as can be expected since becoming a mom of two!  So, I have to catch up on a few important events!

Ryan turned 30 on October 20th.  He doesn't think it's a big deal...in fact, every year he says his birthday isn't a big deal.  Every year, I have to tell him that birthdays ARE a big deal.  If he hadn't been born, I wouldn't have the wonderful life I do, and our children wouldn't be on this earth.  So, as long as I'm alive, birthdays will be a big deal.  Plus, HELLO! It's his 30th!!

Now, poor planning on my part.  I had a baby right before his big day.  (ha!).  However, just because our plans to go on the Price is Right were squashed didn't mean I couldn't attempt to have a surprise waiting for him two weeks postpartum. 

On his actual birthday, he recieved an ipod shuffle because he always complains that his Touch is too big when he's at the gym.  I got steaks and potatoes to make for dinner, his favorite.  Even though he had to bbq them, it was delicious!  Then, since it was just us I got a strawberry cheesecake, his dessert of choice.  He had a great night and even got to have a few drinks with his buddy Bobby.  He thought the fun stopped there!  The next night, we went to Bobby Q's which is Ryan's favorite restaurant.  Waiting there for him were our closest friends-Joel and Chandra with their two kiddos, Chad, Chandra's brother, Wes and Christina and Bobby.  Ryan's mom came a little later too-she did give birth to him thirty years ago after all!  We had a blast there-ate some great food, had some great laughs and then I gave him his little overnight bag and told him to go have a few drinks with the boys and have a night off! 

He's accomplished a lot in his thirty years.  He may not think so, but it's true.  Ryan is the most determined person I know.  When he sets his mind to something, he does it with his whole heart.  I've been lucky enough to spend the last 11 1/2 years with him to observe this.  Plus, he has given me two of THE MOST amazing children in the world, and is determined to be the best father to them.  It's not hard, he's a natural, as he is with most things.

Thirty years may not seem like a long time to some people, but I'm proud of what he's done in thirty years.  And, as the song says, I can't wait to see what happens in "his next thirty years"!! 

Happy 30th Birthday to the best husband in the world!!

The Birth Story of Brooke

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind...the most incredible whirlwind of my life.  You all know how anxious I was to add our baby girl to our family.  And then, it suddenly happened! 

On October 9th, 2011 we all got up like any other day.  I told myself I wasn't going to think about the baby coming.  Instead, I was focusing on the fact that my Mom is moving out of her house into a new one, and I hadn't been much help.  It's hard with an almost 2 year old and a giant belly to really do much, but on this day, we enlisted the help of Ryan's parents to watch Connor so Ryan and I could help Mom, Aunt Mary and Aunt Carrie move as much as we could before the baby did come.  I got Connor ready and drove over to my in-laws, switched vehicles with them and came home.  I had one errand to run-I needed a battery charger for the camera I had purchased from a guy on craigslist the day before.  So, I quickly ran up to get that and a pomegranate tea from AJ's.  I even texted my sis in law, Carly, and told her I had zero signs of the baby coming any time soon!  I came home and Ryan and I ate some lunch to fuel up for the move-this was at noon.  While I was chomping on my ham and cheese panini, I started feeling some contractions.  I didn't get my hopes up though...this has happened before!  However, this time was different...

I timed them.  They were 10 minutes apart.  I called Mom and let her know I was going to watch my contractions for an hour and then call her back.  She told me "I think this is going to be it".  I replied with "yeah, yeah" and finished watching a show.  Ryan took advantage of the time by taking a nap (since he had gone out with some friends the night before).  I went for a brisk walk around the neighborhood and park and worked up a good sweat.  Now they were 7 minutes apart.  When I got home, I sat on the big exercise ball, did some deep squats and cat/cow from yoga, and they maintained.  I woke Ryan up and debated with him.  He got up with me and we went for another walk around the park.  During this walk, my contractions got down to 5 minutes apart, and I had to stop for some of them and breathe through them.  By the time we got home, I called Mom and told her what was happening.  My biggest fear was going to the hospital only to be sent home!  It happens all the time!  By 4:00, they were painful enough and still 5-6 minutes apart, so we decided it was time.  My bag was ready, but Ryan threw as much as he thought he needed into his gym bag and we headed out the door.  My mind was racing-I hadn't packed a bag for Connor.  I only laid out his "Big Brother" outfit and the present I got for him from his sister, and the little pink giraffe he picked out for her.  The carseat was ready, but I had taken out the base when my sister was here...etc.  We walked into Banner Thunderbird.  The last time we did this, I was there for an induction, so we got to skip triage altogether!  In we went, got hooked up the monitors and waited.  Sure enough, my contractions were strong enough and close together and I was at 4 cm.  The doctor advised walking for an hour, and she needed to see change in order for me to be officially admitted.  I was determined!  Ryan and I not only walked, but ran up and down stairs, did jumping jacks, and even a few lunges and squats to make sure I showed that change!! (Well, actually, I did all that-Ryan made sure we had a pit stop at the cafeteria so he could get a drink.  He also got me an icee-let me tell you, it was the best icee of my life!).  We got back to the room at 5:30, and crossed our fingers and toes!  Sure enough, I was at 5cm!  She got in touch with the doctor, and they made the decision to admit me.  Woohoo!!
By 6:30, we were in our labor and delivery room.  About an hour later, we decided to break my water to move things along, so I got my epidural (which only worked on the right side at first...thank goodness laying on my left side finally helped numb me!).  We watched the contractions get stronger and our baby girl stay steady. My mom and aunts got there not long after and the wait began!  We chatted about the new iphone, convinced Aunt Mary to take Carrie's ipod touch, and played with the new camera. I was still only about 6 cm, and were told it could be awhile-most likely our little girl would be an October 10th baby because she wouldn't be born before midnight.  About that time, my mother in law arrived, and I got to catch up on Connor's day.  I missed him so much!  I also talked to my sister, who was at a wedding and in a different time zone, therefore had already taken advantage of the open bar.  She was very excited, I think, through all those tears! :)
Suddenly, just as Carrie busted out the game of Quiddle, I felt the most intense pain of my life.  It was that sheet gripping, face squinting, if-I-had-a-leather-strap-I'd-bite-it type of pain.  It was 11:15.  I told Ryan to get the nurse ASAP, and my family decided it was time to go to the waiting room.  The nurse came in, showed me how to use the pain pump, and then checked me.  She was shocked to see that I was 9 cm!! She said she'd come check me in a half an hour or so.  Fifteen minutes later, I told Ryan to go get her again because the pain wasn't going away and I was feeling the need to push.  She came back in (and I think was a little skeptical!) but checked, and sure enough-I was at 10 cm!  She called to start getting people in the room to get ready for baby, and I looked at Ryan.  This was it!  She said to give her a couple pushes to see where I was, and then quickly told me to stop so she could get the doctor in there before the baby came!  We were elated-Connor's birth was two and half of the longest hours of pushing.  Poor guy was up high and not ready to come out, so to have 2 pushes down and be ready for her to come was incredibly exciting!
The doctor came in (ps-it wasn't my doctor, but a wonderful doctor from the practice who I liked very much!) and got herself ready.  On the next contraction, I was to push.  Our nurse, Jolie, took the camera from Ryan and snapped away while Ryan helped me push.  TWO PUSHES, yes, TWO PUSHES later, we met our daugther.  The umbilical cord was wound around her body, but she was absolutely perfect.   She let out a few cries, and they put her directly on my immediately.  Our eyes met, and we looked at each other like we were old friends. It was an amazing feeling to feel so good after giving birth to her (with Connor I was so exhausted and sick!!). 

After her tests and getting cleaned up, I got to to nurse her immediately (another experience Connor and I missed out on until 6 hours later).  She was perfect!  At that point, Ryan and I had to decide on a name! Yikes!!  We had decided our top three names the night before while eating some spicy food at Abacus.  Kyra, Brooke and Lindsay-it was one of those!  We knew immediately that she was not a Lindsay.  So it was between Kyra and Brooke.  I looked at her and looked at Ryan and told him I felt like Brooke was it.  I think he was too tired to make any decisions, but he agreed after we repeated both names a few times to make sure.  The middle name had been decided on by me months earlier, but this was kept a secret.  Why Laurel?  My Grandma Phyllis' middle name was Laurel, my mom's name is Laurie (derived from that) and my sister's middle name is Laurel.  What better name to give my daughter than one shared by three very important women in my life!  So, there it was BROOKE LAUREL. 

We gathered everyone back in the room, and introduced her.  Everyone got some snuggle time in before we let them go to bed, and we prepared for our first night as parents of this beautiful little girl.

She has been amazing these past three weeks.  Brooke is much easier than we thought considering how much she moved in the womb.  She's still a mover, but very content and calm unless hungry or dirty.  She sleeps well, and wakes up on average three times a night to eat, change and snuggle. 

How is it as a family of four?  It's a struggle at times to make sure we are giving Connor enough attention, or when he wants something and I am nursing Brooke.  Thank God for a great support of family and friends!  They have all helped so much and shown both of our babies so much love!  We've realized that we can easily make it on our own, and that we work so well as a team which makes life easier.  I wouldn't change a thing!  I do know that this is it for us.  As soon as she was born, I had an overwhelming feeling of complete-ness.  Like this is the way our family is meant to be!  I'm not sad about it either (well, most of the time-I'd be lying if I didn't say that I love the birthing process and the newborn stage, but I don't want to be pregnant and trying to take care of 2 kids!). 

So, that's it!  That's the story of how our Morgan family became a complete family of four with the addition of Brooke.  We are incredibly blessed and reminded of what a miracle life really is.  Thank you all for your support and love.  We look forward to what life will bring is in the coming years!