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Two is more than One

Well, life with two kids is a little crazy. Its not bad but it comes with a new set of challenges. For example, shopping with two kids is not very productive mostly because the baby is in the car seat in the cart while the toddler is in the seat therefore there is not much room in the cart to put the groceries. Chris thinks it's great because that means I'll buy less but I warned him that it also means I'll have to go more frequently. It's not just the cart issue either. It's trying to time when will be an ideal time that day to go- making sure it's before the toddler's nap and just after the baby has been fed. So, I either plan it well a day in advance or go on Saturday so Chris can watch Penny and I'll take Declan.

Penny has been mostly nice and good with Declan. She's learning her needs can't always be met immediately if I'm feeding Declan. Penny loves to hug Declan but it means he's laying down and she's pressing her head against his tummy. It's cute but we have to keep a close eye so she doesn't smash him. Penny also loves to touch Declan's face so we're trying to teach her to only touch his hands and feet because she has a tendency to poke his eye. Her latest thing to do with Declan is if he's in the bouncer, she takes his hands and says "How you doin'?" and "Declan is a happy boy". Basically adorable. I've started giving Penny music time during the day instead of a movie. She LOVES it and is getting words down as well as gestures for songs. For the last two days, she's requested music time once she's up. I love it.

Church has been interesting to coordinate. We're pretty good about getting there a little early in case Declan needs to eat before the meeting starts. I think we have it down well now- when Penny wakes up, Chris gets her changed and started for the morning while I feed Declan. Then, Chris hops into the shower while I get the kids and myself ready. I have to admit though that I plan out their outfits and get the diaper bag stocked the night before so we're ready to rock in the morning. Church is at 9am so that means we leave here by 830a.

Life has been getting a little easier with Declan getting a routine kind of down. He's sleeping between 4-8 hours at night depending on how the day went. And with Penny still taking an afternoon nap, we're all sure to catch a nap then. He's made a lot of progress with tummy time, rolling from tummy to back, looking around, smiling at people, laughing, and cooing. I'm trying to enjoy this stage as much as possible because it seems to be going faster than it did with Penny (I think because I'm dividing my attention between the two of them now). I'm trying to take pictures as much as I can (which isn't nearly as much as I did with Penny).

I'm trying to slowly carve out time for myself now that we have a little bit of a routine down. Plus, I have been great at pumping and freezing milk for Declan (we have a nice stash that we've had to move into the chest freezer behind the garage) so I can leave Declan for a few hours if I need. My sweet husband asked me last night if we had plans for Saturday and I said no. He then suggested that he could watch the kids for a little while and I could go to the gym (for the first time since my physical therapy was done from my knee surgery). I'm still restricted to the bike and elliptical- no treadmill :(  We are also in the process of figuring out a good organization solution to our bedroom. Part of it is to have a good follow through after laundry is done to get it where we want it. Now, where it gets put is still the problem. We have a bookcase instead of a dresser so Chris can see what he's pulling out. Only time will tell how it'll end up.

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Declan's big day!

Well, today has been full of new things for Declan. We have set up the swing with the mobile for him, had him in the swing outside that Penny has come to love, and put him in the bumbo to see how he does. Basically, he enjoys all of them. Here are some fun photos from today:

He fell asleep in the swing outside, was mesmerized by the mobile on the inside swing, and just relaxed in the bumbo. It's fun trying new things with him. Later today, he'll get his bath. What a day full of adventure!

Penny and Declan bonding time

Today is a fun day for the kids. At least it is this morning. Penny decided to stack some soft toys on Declan while he was in the bouncer:

Then, Penny decided it would be fun to put toys on Declan's back during tummy time:

Now, this wouldn't have been a big deal if Declan hadn't decided that tummy time is now tummy-time-and-roll-onto-my-back time:

Penny trying to say "Penelope"

Enjoy this fun video of Penny trying to say her name "Penelope":

Declan Christopher Wright

I'm sure this is the post a lot of you have been waiting for- I dropped off there for a bit. Ironically, I had been working on a post on Dec 14th (that I'll post a little later after this one) about what's been going on. Well, Friday (the 14th) I decided that I needed to go for a mall walk or walk around Target for a while. Chris, being very aware of what that could do to help with labor, asked that I find someone to go with me. No such luck so Chris let me go while he was in his last meeting of the week, knowing we have a friend who lives just behind Target that I could call if anything were to start. Well, things slowly started. I had to sit a few times during my 1 1/2 hr walk around the store. Contractions were getting somewhat regular but nothing too close or consistent. We all went to bed not knowing what was going to happen next. Penny squeaked around midnight and went back to sleep. Well, I was not going back to sleep. I got this feeling inside that I needed to start timing my contractions again. I timed them for an hour and they were pretty regular and I knew that this was probably it. As I leaned over to tell Chris, I just hoped in my mind that this was not a false alarm and was thinking of who to call to watch Penny. We had had a few offers from people from Church to watch her but we felt that there was one family that we could really call at 1:30 in the morning. I called them and they were more than happy to take her (although she wasn't too happy to be taken out of her warm bed). As we dropped her off, I kept telling my friend that I really hoped this was not a false alarm and that I was really sorry if it was. As we walked back to the car, the contractions were getting a little more intense. We jumped on the freeway and soon discovered that one of the freeways to the hospital was closed at night for construction so I was happy to know different ways to get to the hospital. We got to the hospital at 2:30a and they got me in a room. We hadn't called anyone in case they were going to send us home. Well, the nurse checked me and I was at 5cm. Thank goodness because it was starting to hurt something bad. At that point, they said they were admitting me and would I like some pain killers (uh, YES. PLEASE. NOW!). We called my parents to let them know that I was being admitted but you never know how long getting a baby out is going to take. It took the anesthesiologist a little while to get to me because he was with someone else. So, I got some intermediate pain killers. The nurse felt around my belly and noticed that Declan was turned on his side and wanted to get him in position. I was then told to lay on my left side to see if that would make him move and they'd check again in an hour. Well, I was given my wonderful epidural before I laid down on my side. After an hour, they felt my belly again and Declan was where he was supposed to be! Now, my water hadn't been broken yet and I was told that only the doctor could do that. Needless to say, when the doctor arrived I was dilated to 10 and was ready to go except for the small fact that my water needed to be broken. Once the doctor broke my water, it only took 4 contractions to push that little guy out (about 20 minutes). From when i arrived to when he came out was only 6 hours and 10 minutes. Declan Christopher Wright arrived at 8:40a weighing 8 pounds 5 ounces, 20 inches long. Thank goodness he was 2 weeks early (by the doctor's due date, only 1 week from my calculated due date) or else he would've been 9+ pounds.

His lowest weight after birth was 7lbs 9oz (just 3 days after birth) and has since gained 2 pounds (weighing in this past Friday at 9lbs 9oz). Declan has been a good baby and has had no problems with nursing. This week, he has started sleeping for a 6 hour run (from 8/9p until 2a). He's been co-sleeping until now because he really likes being held. Penny was such the opposite. We are hoping to move him to the crib in Penny's room by this weekend.

Well, my next post will be about life with two.