Lucas - 1 week

What I've learned so far about Lucas

• He is a gassy baby
• He is a sucky baby! I mean.. he likes the pacifier
• He likes to be REALLY warm. He probably would enjoy humid weather
• He can sleep for a long time in someone's arms or in the vibrating chair... not so much in the bassinet.
  

Lucas lost about 10 oz in the first few days. Since then he's gained about 6oz back. It's a good sign. He should be gaining about an ounce a day or by the time he's 2 weeks should be back to his birth weight. His weight puts him at the 25%... just like Caleb.

My big boy

So a common question that I've been getting is how is Caleb adjusting?

So far Caleb knows the name of the baby and has sweetly given him kisses on the head. I've caught him give Lucas a kiss on the mouth so now I fear he's passing cooties and I'm going to have to deal with a sick newborn pretty soon.

One thing I've read is to involve an older child with taking care of the new baby. In such a short time Caleb has become very helpful.

During a diaper change I wanted to get the changing pad out of my diaper bag. I asked Caleb to get it for me. At first he gave me the pouch that is filled with diapers. I asked him to go back again and get the BLACK changing pad with the CIRCLES on it. He fetched it and brought it over.

Another time I was sitting down to feed Lucas but I forgot the Boppy pillow. I asked Caleb for the blue pillow. He picked up a blue blanket instead. Then I asked for the pillow that looks like the letter 'C'. Caleb understood that and picked up the Boppy pillow and handed it to me.

I've also asked Caleb to get me a diaper and blanket and I thank him profusely for being such a great helper. He looks so proud and happy. I know he'll be a great big brother.

Lucas' birth story

It's amazing how every birth story is different. Everyone says the second and subsequent deliveries go faster. It definitely is true!

Here's a time-line of events:

April 20th
Throughout the day I could feel my belly get hard. It happened pretty frequently but was painless. I wondered if it was the start of real contractions. I brushed it off and went about the day. At dinner time I was feeling really uncomfortable and the contractions were getting a little painful. I told Jamie and he suggested that when we got home I should go straight to bed... just in case they are the real thing, then he wanted me to get as much rest as I could.
9:30pm - I went to bed but I also couldn't sleep because of contractions. They weren't incredibly painful but definitely enough to keep me up and start timing the frequency and duration. (gotta love the timer on the iPhone)

April 21st
1:15am - Texted my sister to let her know that I thought I was having contractions.
2:00am - Started timing contractions which were getting to be about every 5 minutes and lasting anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds.
2:35am - Went to the bathroom and mucous plug came out. I woke Jamie up and told him and said I think I want to call the number to talk to the doctor to see if I should come in.
2:47am - I called my sister and asked her if she could come over to watch Caleb. We had heard back from a nurse and she thought I should come in.
3:00am - As we waited for my sister to arrive, we went into Caleb's room. He woke up and saw Jamie and me. We probably freaked him out a bit... he started to cry. All I wanted to do was let him know that we were going to the hospital. I didn't want him to wake up and look for us and get upset when he saw my sister.
3:45am - Checked into the hospital.
4:00am - Had an exam and was 5 cm dilated (woohoo!)
5:15am - Pain too intense and decided to get epidural
6:00am - 7cm dilated
8:30am - 9.5cm dilated
9:36am - Doctor broke water. The baby wasn't too far down because the bag of waters was blocking him. The nurse wanted me to do a couple rounds of pushing to see if he would easily come down. He didn't so I was given pitocin to help the baby descend
10:50am - The pushing begins
11:15am - Lucas Riley Castillo Breslow is born

This delivery was uneventful in comparison to Caleb and even his was pretty smooth.. The only part I didn't like was the epidural. This time around the epidural made me totally numb. I could not move my own legs. I also couldn't feel the contractions which is the whole point of getting the epidural but I hated the feeling of numbness throughout my legs. I don't recall being that numb when I got the epidural with Caleb. I actually called the doctor and asked him to lower the dosage. The first time around, the epidural took the pain of the contraction away but I knew when a contraction was happening and as a result knew when I had to push.

I was lucky enough to go into labor when my OB doctor was on call. It was nice to see a familiar face throughout my labor and delivery. This time around, Jamie got to cut the umbilical cord. There was a small scary moment when the nurse had him and she thought Lucas was really pale. She rubbed his back for a bit I guess to get his circulation going. It scared me. It seemed like forever until I got to hold him and wish him a happy birthday. He looks a lot like Caleb when Caleb was newborn.

Jaundice

Lucas' level of bilirubin kept creeping up to the point that on Sunday we had to check back into the hospital so he can have light therapy to help break it down. I knew that this could happen again since Caleb also had to stay an extra night in the hospital and get light therapy but I was really hoping Lucas wouldn't have to go through the same thing.

When we got to the hospital, they were expecting us. The nurse had to get a blood test to get a base bilirubin level. When drawing blood from a newborn, most of the time a heel stick is used to prick the heel and squeeze blood out. Well this particular nurse thought it was easier (not sure who it is easier on) to use a needle and draw blood through the vein.

Now, I get a little squeamish at the thought of getting blood drawn on MYSELF. And this nurse is going to do it on my teeny tiny 4 day old baby???? He prepped Lucas and then I had to help pin a shoulder and legs down. Lucas SCREAMED. I managed to hold it together. Well, then the nurse couldn't get enough blood drawn from that vein. When he stepped out to get more supplies, I lost it in front of the other nurse. I stepped out and tried to get myself together. But when the first nurse came back to do the process all over AGAIN on a different vein I could not stop the flood of tears. It seemed like it took years to get enough blood to fill the little vial.

What a harrowing experience that I hope to forget soon.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

My second son Lucas Riley Castillo Breslow born 4/21/10 at 11:15am. 7lbs 13 ozs 20 1/4 inches.

Jamie bought a chocolate birthday cake. When you think about it, that is THE birthday and when we celebrate every year it's really an anniversary celebration.

40 weeks!

What are the odds of being overdue both times you're pregnant? Well it certainly is looking that way for me. Today is my due date. Of course it's still morning and I have 13 hours left of this day... plenty of time to go into labor and deliver right?

I need....

Caleb's favorite phrase these...

I need...

• snack (sometimes he's even more specific like saying strawberries)
  
• crayons
• milk
• more
  

I really don't know where he picked this up. It's kind of cute but definitely not all the time. It sounds so melodramatic especially when it starts off as "MOMMY! I need "

Mommy sleep

So the transition to Caleb's big boy bed has gone pretty well. For the most part he's been sleeping in his bed. There were a few exceptions - the contractors making too much noise in the bathroom next door and Friday Family Film night. Because there are no bed rails yet (they're supposed to arrive tomorrow) I lie down with Caleb and wait until he's almost asleep before I leave and return when I'm ready to go to sleep. This has caused a bit of a problem. I've tried to just leave him but he'll pat the pillow next to him and say "Mommy sleep" It's the cutest thing ever and so how can I resist? Tonight he said "Mommy's bed" and I replied "No, Caleb's bed".

I know it goes against all sleep training rules to give in and lie down with him in his bed especially since I know he is used to it but the clock is ticking on baby 2's arrival and I just want to savor these moments because in a short while I will have to split my time between 2 kids. Oh! the guilt is already starting and he's not even here yet!

The bed rails arrive tomorrow so I must commit to not co-sleeping and his cute plea "mommy sleep". Wish me luck!

Scheduled Induction

So Caleb was a week late. We actually had a scheduled induction for July 7th and that morning my water broke. In retrospect I think I had gone into labor the day before.

This second time around, I thought hey maybe I'll be a little early. I had a doctor's appointment today and am not dilated. Must be nice and comfy there in my womb or something! What are the odds that both your kids are past the due date?

So they wanted to schedule an induction about a week past my due date. My doctor is on call at the hospital all day on Monday April 26th so that's the day I chose to be induced but I'm really hoping I'll go into labor on my own.

39 weeks and nesting

I'm one week away from my due date. woohoo!

Today I was out and about doing some errands and I swear everywhere I went I got compliments about being pregnant.

Starbucks Barista: You're about ready to pop!
Me: One more week
Starbucks Barista: Congratulations!

Another Starbucks Barista: You look radiant!
Me: (surprised look) Thank you.

Cashier: When are you due?
Me: 1 week from today
Cashier: You are all belly and don't seem like you're 1 week away
Me: My son keeps me pretty active and is probably the reason why I didn't gain too much weight

All these comments sure made me feel not as frumpy and duck-like. :)

Anyways...one of the things on my to-do list was to buy a new coming home outfit for the little guy. Being second born myself I am all too familiar with hand me downs. I'm not saying I'm buying a whole new wardrobe for the new guy because it totally makes sense to reuse everything but I at least wanted his first outfit to be new and bought with love from mommy (and daddy too).

Today I also took inventory of all the diapers I got from my diaper shower. I think I have over 500 size 1 diapers alone! I think that will last about 2 months.

With the buying of a new outfit, organizing some diapers, and getting out the bin full of 0-3 month clothing to wash... I think this all qualifies as nesting. Jamie even noticed and said it was making him nervous. LOL!

Caleb's big boy bed

So when we found out that we were expecting again, we had to decide what to do about transitioning Caleb out of his crib. First, I didn't want to buy another crib especially since we had a hardly used full size bed. Second, I wanted to avoid buying a toddler bed since I didn't think it would last long and I would've had to buy another crib mattress. Third, wanted to transition him before the baby came so he didn't feel like this new baby was taking something he felt belonged to him.

I had a plan to transition him to a different bedroom sometime in February with new Dr Seuss bedding on a full size bed. Well, that plan went out the window when we bought a new house (that needed remodeling) and decided to put our house on the market.

So now we are in our new house. We felt like Caleb should sleep in our bed so he could get used to this house. We did other things in his room like read books, play, and change diapers. Since we were also remodeling the bathroom next door to his room, we couldn't even let him nap in his room because of the noise. I was beginning to think we were going to start co-sleeping which I was pretty adamant about NOT doing. Caleb was really starting to get used to sleeping in our bed. We would get him ready for bed in his room and then as soon as his pj's were on, he would take off for our room and ask for help to get into the bed.

The past two days Caleb was put down for a nap in his big boy bed. Jamie and I decided tonight was the night that Caleb would sleep in it. I did lie down with him for a little while but left before he actually fell asleep. I hope it goes well. I reserve the right to go in there sometime tonight and possibly sleep with him.

Keep your fingers crossed that this transition goes smoothly.... Next week there's a whole other transition to get through!

21 months

When we found out we were pregnant, I quickly calculated what the age difference would be... 21 months. And here we are but baby #2 isn't here just yet. Here's some cute and funny tidbits about Caleb.

• He is starting to sing the ABC song and it's really cute especially when he hits the L-M-N-O part
• He loves to copy EVERYTHING he sees and hears. It's fun to watch except when Jamie does something like use his chopsticks as drumsticks.
• He now can say "balloon" instead of "bah-boon"
• His favorite word these days is "funny"
• When you point to a picture of Caleb and ask "Who's that?" A lot of times he says "You". Cracks me up every time.
  
• His favorite books these days are "Are you my Mother", "Green Eggs & Ham" and "The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog"
• He likes to jump off of stairs or on the couch
  
• When he wants to leave (home, a restaurant, etc) he'll say "Let's go...Mommy's car"
  
• He has no idea that his life is about to change when his baby brother comes into the world but we think he'll be a great big brother