Kids are funny

My birthday was pretty good. Valentine's Day, Darren came home with a card from him, a card from Becca, flowers and some Lindor's truffles. (my favorite) Sunday, some wonderful friends of ours watched both of the kids so we could go out. We planned to go to a sit down restaurant, but Barrett wanted to eat so we left a little later than intended. The day after Valentine's is not usually busy, but forgetting that the next day was a holiday, we thought we'd have time for dinner. We went a couple of different places and all were half hour waits and we only had an hour before the movie, so we went to Fazoli's. It was good but not quite the dinner I wanted so we agreed to go out sometime soon to get that dinner. Anyway, we went to see "Taken" which we both really enjoyed. We got there late too however and sat in the second row. It was really nice to get out without the kids; I can't remember the last time we went on a date; we might have to make a habit of it. When we got back home, Darren brought in a birthday card from him, a birthday card from Becca, and a scrapbook tote to put some of my stuff in. Becca asked her dad, "Now, that's from both of us right?" That's my girl!

Becca did not get a nap because we were busy cleaning, etc. We had a friend of hers come over to play and I hung out with his mom because her husband is out of town. After they left, she went to the bathroom. Now, for some reason, she always wants us in there with her when we're at home; out in public, she wants to go in the stall by herself. Anyway, I was rocking Barrett, trying to get him to go to sleep so I told her I couldn't help her yet. I was waiting for her to come out so she could watch one show of hers. A few minutes go by and I hear a noise coming from the bathroom. I go in there, and she is folded over, still sitting on the potty fast asleep and snoring. I was holding Barrett and I almost didn't get her awake. If I had been in my right mind, I would have gotten the camera out to take a picture, it was hilarious.

Parenting

I heard someone say, maybe even a comedian, that you're not truly a parent until you have more than one. I can say amen to that. My wonderful first born is a terrific child, behaves well and all that jazz. But when you take away attention from her and need to help someone else, it's not always smooth sailing. Not to say she didn't have these moments before Barrett was born but we're having more of them now. She's beginning to want to do and see daddy more which is okay with me for more than one reason: it takes some of the stress off me, and I was a daddy's girl and I'd like her to be one too. However, she still hasn't let daddy do the nighttime routine of pajamas, brushing teeth and book reading, but that's time I enjoy with her.

Becca is great with Barrett. She picks out his clothes, gets his pacifier when he needs it, wants to hold him quite a bit, etc. It's just me she has issues with at times. I try not to promise to play a game with her, because just as soon as I do, it's time to feed Barrett and then she really has issues. We're still learning to adjust. I do feel for her at times and would love to figure out a routine where we can have time to do things together and do things separately, while still getting a few things done around the house. If anyone has mastered this, advice would be greatly appreciated. If I run errands in the morning, my whole day is gone and don't have time to do much the rest of the day. I think one day, things will get slightly better...maybe when they're both a little more independent???

Barrett, luckily, is a great baby. I was so worried since Becca was so good, but I got lucky twice. He's a good eater, a good sleeper, and has a good demeanor. He has already slept through the night (8-9 hours) twice. If he doesn't sleep all night, he usually only gets up once and goes right back to sleep. He's not a big crier, if he throws a fit, it lasts only minutes and it's usually because he's gassy or needs attention. The only thing is he can spit up quite a bit at times. All in all, I'm pretty lucky with my kids.

My two men

Yeah! Steelers!

My husband has always been a Steelers fan and I've always been a Dallas Cowboys fan. Early in the marriage we had a much stronger rivalry, however, we've come to root for each others teams; okay maybe I have more than he. But, Becca did have a Steelers onesie when she was little and it was passed down to Barrett. Darren's parents were here to help with my eye surgery and stayed for the super bowl. Here are some pictures of the Steelers fans. Darren's mom cheered for Arizona as they live in Arizona and Kurt Warner lived near the town they grew up in.

This is Becca when she was 7 days old.

Steelers fans with Darren's footbal signed by Terry Bradshaw

On another note, Barrett slept through the night Thursday. I put him down around 11:00 and he woke up at 8:00. Of course I didn't sleep all night; I got up to check on him twice. Even though he doesn't usually sleep all night, he typically only gets up once at night so it's really been nice. He truly has been so much fun. He and Becca so far have been very similar: good eaters, good sleepers and good temperments.

Becca and I went to Chuck E Cheese Friday with a friend while Darren kept Barrett. We had a lot of fun and she was still ready to play when we got home. We're still adjusting to not having all the attention. I have to be careful not to tell her I will play something with her because that will be the time Barrett will wake up and need to eat. Then she fusses and tells me not to feed him, throws a fit, the whole bit. I try to spend as much time as possible with her, so we're trying to find a balance. My house shows that I'm spending most of the time with the kids. My goal is to 1 thing a day: 1 load of laundry or clean off 1 dresser or clean 1 bathroom, etc. I feel good to get something done. Eventually it will all be done. But, for now, I'm trying to enjoy the kids and get some rest when I can.

Post surgery

My surgery was in Nashville at 3:30 and I was home (an hour away) by 5:30 or 6:00. I had something called ptosis; it's basically a drooping eyelid when the eyelid has slipped out of the carlidge holding it in place. The surgeon said my muscle looked good so fixing it wouldn't be a problem. He cut the middle of my eyelid, reattached then tendon and muscle with dissolvable stictches, then stitched up my eyelid; those stiches I'll have out in a week to 10 days. I was told I'd be out for part of the surgery but awake for some. If I was out, it was fairly brief. I do remember them having me open my eyes, look up, then close it several times. I heard him say it's a little high a couple of times. I guess they were matching the eyelids to look fairly symmetrical. Also during surgery, I felt a prick a couple of times on my eyelid. The surgeon, Dr. Wesley, had to give me a little more anesthesia. He said I probably metabolize it faster than others...if that's true, why my metabolism doesn't work on food seems a cruel joke.

That night, I didn't have too many problems. It was the next morning when it was quite a bit swollen and red. I had a little problems with tearing. And because my eye was so swollen, my eyelashes were stuck together the next morning. I didn't have too much pain associated with it, however. The salve they gave me to put on my eyelid made my vision a little blurry. But, all in all it wasn't too bad. It never got black and blue. The real pain was just being careful not to bend over or lift anything.

A couple of hours after surgery

24 hours after surgery

Surgery

Monday, I'm having eye surgery to fix my drooping eyelid. I have a list of things I can't do before surgery and a list of restrictions after surgery. The first 48 hours after surgery is the most restrictive: I can't bend over, I need to put ice cold cloths on my eye for 15 minutes of every hour, sleep in a recliner, no lifting over 10 pounds for 1 week. I am lucky to have my in-laws coming in to help with the kids, me, and everything else. I wanted to have my eye fixed but wasn't expecting a C-section, so I wasn't considering 2 surgeries so close together. But, I'm pretty well recovered from the first just in time for the second. At least this doesn't have as much recovery time. Here is a picture of the before:

Routine??

Wow! How time really flies by when you have a newborn. With one, you can sleep when they sleep or get a few things done around the house. With a preschooler, you need to give attention to them in between feedings and whatever cleaning you get around to doing. We still have rest time here, so while Becca is watching a movie, I try to get a few zzz's in either before or after Barrett eats. We have been letting Becca stay up until we go to bed...this helps us in the morning because she will sleep in until 8 or 9:00, which helps me get a few extra zzz's hopefully. There have been a few nights he's gone 4-5 hours between feedings. The only problem we're really having is he's a little gassy and he doesn't burp well. So, lying him down doesn't work for too long. The swing helps some, but he still gags a little and when I get him up, he typically gives me a big burp. So, today during the day, I'm trying him in his bed on his belly. I know, it's a big no-no, but I'm seeing how well he does with his head; I really think it will help with his belly. He sleeps really well when he's sleeping on my or Darren's belly. I know, he's only 4 1/2 weeks old but it would be nice to be able to lay him down and get some sound sleep.

At his 2 week checkup a couple of weeks ago, he was already 9 pounds 12 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. That's 2 1/2 inches and a pound and a half in 2 weeks! He is really growing and eats really well and will occasionally sleep well in the right position.

His first bath

Big sister loves to help

Daddy and his kids in Barrett's favorite position

Coming home

The first several days after we came home flew by. One of my brothers and family as well as my sister and niece drove here to meet Barrett and spend a little time for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and wish they could have stayed longer. It was nice to have someone closer to Becca's age for her to play with. They were all a huge help with the kids as well as the cooking. Of course, my mom was a huge help with cleaning, cooking, and the kids. I don't know why people wouldn't have their mom there to help out...she really is great!

When he was 4 days old, we went to the doctor for a checkup. He was only 2 ounces shy of his birth weight. We also started noticing he was developing a yellowish tint. Our pediatrician sent us to the lab for bloodwork. His bilirubin levels were over 19...25 is the danger level that leaves permanent damage. So, they called a company who comes to your house with the bilirubin belt and someone to show you how to use it. He was on it as much as possible, even overnight. It wrapped all the way around his middle, luckily, it didn't bother him and he still slept quite a bit. Christmas Eve, we went back in for bloodwork and he'd only dropped 1 point. We went back in Christmas Day and he'd dropped all the way to 15 so we were able to stop using the belt.