Happy Due Date!

Well, my official due date was April 10 - just a couple of days ago! And, Bryton is now officially one month old. As my obstetrician said at my one week post-op appointment, "You don't know how glad I am that you aren't pregnant anymore." Me too, Dr. R., me too. I might have mentioned his statement in a previous blog; sorry if it's a repeat for ya! It was just so funny when he said it.

I can't believe that it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. There's a lot to catch up on!

Last week was spring break here in NC. So, that meant no preschool for Vivi. We had a good week, but just got a little restless. The weather wasn't great last week so we didn't get to go outside much. Vivi had a good time last week, despite a little cabin fever. We got to go Pump It Up and she had a great time (that's aka the jumpy place as referred to in a previous post). We also went to the bowling alley. That outing wasn't as fun. Vivi didn't understand why every turn wasn't her turn. Vivi bowled a frame, then mom, then Vivi, then dad. But she didn't like letting mom and dad have turns. She did, however, enjoy carrying her bowling ball (6 lb) from the ball collection place to the lane. They had a little ball 'stilt' if you will, where you set the ball on the top of the stilt, aim it, and then roll it down the stilt's incline. Great for 2 year old bowlers. Anyway, we were glad for that outing to be over. She just wasn't being a team sport! Maybe next time.

Bryton went to the doctor last week for another weight check. He weighed in at 9 lbs, 10 oz. That means that he had gained almost 2 oz a day since his previous weight check. The doctor thought everything looked good and was pleased to see his weight gain and said that it looked like he had hit his stride. (By the way, he pooped and peed on the nurse that measured and weighed him this time too!) He's eating about every 3.5 hours during the day (sometimes 4), and most nights goes for 5 hour stretches at a time. Most of the time he sleeps all night, just fussing to eat at those times. But, occasionally he'll start fussing 2 hours after his last feeding. I don't think he's hungry those times, especially if I know that he's eaten well at the last feeding. So, we'll go check on him and change him and he usually settles down. So, I think we are getting a reasonable amount of sleep for having a one month old. He still sleeps most of the time during the day, but I've been trying to keep him awake for periods during the day. That helps him really want to sleep at night. He's starting to get into a routine; he has awake times during the morning and evenings. If I can just keep him awake during those times, he does really well at night.

Vivi on the other hand is getting up during the night. She's afraid of the dark suddenly. We have 2 night lights in her room, but if she hears an airplane flying overhead, or if it is raining and thundering, then she gets scared and runs into our room. So, she's getting up more often during the night than Bryton is. Hmmm...

Life as a mom of 2 isn't too different than being a mom of 1, so far anyway. It's just a matter of not having enough hands at times. For example, I have 3 boxes of things that need to be taken to the post office and mailed out, just not enough hands to figure out how to take 3 boxes, Vivi, and Bryton into the post office. And stand in line without dropping Bryton or a box or letting Vivi make 'friends' with everyone else who is standing in line. If the post office here had an automated postage printing label maker, I would use it. But, they don't. I still have negative reminders of the Yuma post office - during the winter (snow bird season) there was always a line of 10+ people. And everyone had complex mailing scenarios. They were sending items to Canada...or Mexico..or anywhere that needed 3 forms filled out to send. Anyway, I'll get them sent out one day. Other than that, the biggest change is the amount of laundry. There sure is a lot of laundry for such a little guy! Ok, maybe I wash his things excessively...I wash every blanket and burp cloth that I can find when I wash his clothes. He doesn't really spit up, so the burp cloths aren't soiled (especially the car seat ones that rarely touch him) and the blanket in his crib shouldn't be dirty, but I throw it in the wash too. He still soils his changing pad cover on a regular basis. I did go a whole week without getting peed on! But, that record was stopped yesterday. He got me. Oh well.

We 'hid' Easter eggs in the backyard for Vivi. She was in kind of a foul mood the day we did that, so the Easter egg hunt wasn't as magical as I had hoped. I wanted to get some cute pictures of her picking up the eggs, but the pictures weren't great. Maybe we'll have Easter Egg Hunt re-enactment day sometime when she's in a better mood.

One more bit of news - Vivi has a new cousin! Caleigh Elizabeth was born a little more than a week ago! Congratulations to Cameron (Kyle's younger brother) and Dana. We can't wait to meet you, Caleigh!

I went to pick Vivi up from school today and when I got there, she was wearing a white undershirt (not the pink cupcake shirt I sent her to school in). Her teacher said that she soaked herself playing in the sink in the bathroom. She had a great time. I apologized to her teacher and put a change of clothes in her book bag for next time.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. More next time!