3 month old & 3 year old

This is my first entry on the blog, though I've been feeling a need to write something for awhile. I have to admit that I am not the great writer that daddy is, but I will try my best to capture what has been happening in our lives lately. Lizzie is 12 weeks old today. How time flies when you have a baby who is growing and changing everyday. We took her to the pediatrician a couple of weeks ago and she was 12 lbs (75%), 24 inches long (95%) and head was 50%. Her rate of growth was consistent from her last visit two months ago. Lizzie's personality is blossoming before our eyes, she is a delightful, happy baby who likes to suck on her hands, watch her brother do silly things, and hear her parents speak "baby talk" in high pitched voices. She is beginning to laugh, squeal, and do rasberries. She is quite the chatterbox too, I can "converse" with her for as long as 20 minutes when she feels like it. I think she knows that she needs to speak up frequently to keep up with her big brother. Speaking of the big brother, Peter will be three years old in a couple of days. I am so happy to write that he is almost fully potty-trained. The process was surprisingly very easy and quick for us. We started the process about a month ago when Andy was still working from home in the mornings. We let Peter hang out around the house in the mornings with underwear and no pants and put the potty seat in the living room. Whenever he used the potty we gave him a piece of chocolate or candy. Then after Easter, we started the potty training in earnest and had him wear underwear all day, still giving him treats when he used the potty. Now he uses public bathrooms with no problem, though he thinks the flushing is "too loud," and he doesn't ask for a treat everytime he goes. A couple of days ago, we were playing at the park close to our house and I helped him go to the bathroom outside in the bushes for the first time. I just hope it doesn't become a habit and he becomes the little boy who is always found peeing by the shed. Potty training was such an easy process that it seems like Peter hasn't been in diapers for months now. Now I just have to help him understand that he can't have his hand in his pants all day, even if he wants to. Though I may feel like a broken record when I have to remind Peter many many times to do or not do something, I feel so lucky to have a joyful and healthy son and daughter who are the light of my life.
-Mommy

The Longest Day

Well, it’s been six weeks since Lizzie was born and I haven’t provided the narrative for it. I have some time to jot down stuff so here goes.

We went to bed happy and healthy at 10:00 on Thursday the 4th. We had had a pretty good day. After visiting our midwife first thing in the morning and hearing everything was going great, we went to the Babies R Us in Brookfield to check out swings and bouncy seats. After that we took Peter to the hobby store where his 2nd birthday party was held and had a little Mommy+Daddy+Peter time before he had to share the stage. It was a very pleasant day. Ahhh...

Then Peter woke up at midnight and cried out for Mommy. That isn’t necessarily strange, but he usually calls out for whoever puts him to bed, and I had been doing that for the past several months, so usually he calls out for me. So I got up and went to him. He was groggy and fell back to sleep pretty quickly, and I shuffled back to bed.

At about the same time Mommy started getting contractions. Real ones, not them fake Braxton Hicks contractions. They started at the same time Peter woke up. Coincidence? So anyway, she starts getting contractions, but doesn’t tell me until about 2:00, when they started getting closer. We quietly went to the living room and started timing the contractions which were about 8 minutes apart. Mommy was able to put her head down and rest a little between the contractions, but I stayed somewhat alert so I could watch the clock.

Ginnie, our midwife, got to the house at 4:30. We started filling up the birthing tub with hot water, but otherwise it was a period of waiting until 6:30 or so. Mommy was listening to her Hypnobirthing CD on the iPod and was walking around the house between contractions.

Peter wound up waking up about 3 more times after midnight, each time going back down easily. Waking up that many times was out of character for him. He finally woke up for good at 6:30. Mommy was at 7 cm and wanted to get into the tub around this time, so we arranged for Peter to get picked up by his Auntie Truc. She came for him at 7:00, but between the time of him getting up and heading out he was remarkably nonplussed. He heard the tub being filled and wasn’t drawn to it. It was a morning completely different from every single morning in his life, and he was cool as a cucumber. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by that. It’s as if he knew exactly what was going on and was OK with getting out of the way.

Ok, so it was 7:00 AM, Peter had left the building, and tub time started. Mommy got in carefully and made her self comfortable. I knew she was comfortable because she was asking if anyone knew any jokes and asked to eat more cheese and crackers.After awhile, the contractions were getting more intense but not as frequent.Between contractions she wanted me to massage her lower back, but when her contractions started, she would politely ask me to stop the massaging and to turn off the relaxing Zen music.She was in there for 2-3 hours, but she thought it was only 1, so in a way it worked really great. In another way it did not help, because she got so relaxed the contractions got less frequent, but all in all it was a good thing to have.

After she got out of the tub the 2nd midwife (Kristie, assisting Ginnie) came over and the work began. Without getting too graphic, several different positions were tried out in 3 different rooms. Mommy was in the pushing phase for a good 2 hours when Ginnie informed us that if there was no delivery after 3 hours of pushing we’d have to stop and resort to other means. Basically, if it goes that long the risks escalate significantly. Ginnie told us, though, that she was sure it didn’t need to come to that because we were close. We could see Lizzie’s head, so it wasn’t that far from being over. So Mommy pushed like crazy when the contractions came. She pushed and pushed and pushed. And pushed some more. It was a very intense time, to be sure. When it had been 59 minutes and 59 seconds past 2 hours of pushing for about 5 minutes (ahem) Lizzie came out. She had her left hand on her right cheek, so she was in a less than ideal position at the time of delivery. But once she was out she adjusted to life on the outside very well, and latched on for nursing almost immediately.

After that mother and child rested as clean up got under way. Peter came home about 2 hours after Lizzie was born, and while tired and cranky at first (he had been having a good time all day with his aunt) once he got in to see his new sister he was very happy. He still thought there was another baby in Mommy’s tummy for a while, but he eventually caught on that Lizzie was who he was kissing and saying hi to all the time.

The entire labor took about 15 hours, which is not unusual for a first time labor (Mommy never went into labor when Peter was born, so in a way Lizzie was like a first pregnancy). I was in the weird situation of being an active participant in it but also being a witness to my wife under extreme physical duress. So the witness part was upset by the fact that she wasn’t feeling fine and dandy, but the active participant was in amazement by what was going on. I managed to stay in control throughout the process, leaping into action when Mommy wanted or needed something, and sitting close by when I was "on the shelf," so to speak.

It was an awe-inspiring day, but it’s an ordeal for sure. We were running on adrenaline for about 3 days afterwards it seems. We didn’t really get to crash afterwards as much as we may have wanted to, as having a newborn in the house keeps you on your toes. But it should be said that she was a really good sleeper, and still is. But that doesn’t mean she’d let us pass out for 12 hours straight as we may have wanted. Them’s the breaks.

Photos

Some photos...

Name Change Soon

It would be cruel of me to remain as Peter's Dad from now on, and the blog name "Peter's Dad's Update" is so last month. I am not functioning well enough to come up with a new name quite yet, but I am open to suggestions. The only thing that sounds kind of OK right now is "P&E's Papa"...

Big Sister

Lizzie had her first doctor's visit a couple days ago. As expected, she was healthy and well. What wasn't expected was that she was measured at 23 inches long, which puts her in the 95th percentile. She's also up to 8 pounds 8 ounces, which is in the 75th percentile.

Mommy said she knew she'd be long & lanky from the ultrasound, but after only 11 days?

Simple Facts and Visuals

Elizabeth Ann Clausen was born on Friday, February 5th at 3:04 PM. She weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces, and was 21 inches long. She started nursing almost immediately. Further details will follow, but the following is offered as photographic proof that I'm not making this up.

And I Have More Gray Hair

We are now in the period where Peter’s sister could be born any day, and the differences between now and the lead up to Peter’s birth are legion. While a lot of it can simply be a matter of us now being experienced parents as opposed to parents-to-be, a few things should be mentioned.

 

This time we’re planning on a home birth using a midwife instead of the standard Medical Industrial Complex hospital visit we were going to go with last time. We did the things that new parents were supposed to last time, we took the classes, toured the hospital, signed up for the insurance billing fun-fest that comes with hospital baby delivery. We did want a “natural” childbirth there, but settled for the c-section when Peter did his thing (knowing him all his life, I am not surprised he was breech and wouldn’t budge – the little dude is stubborn as a mule). I think even if things had gone according to plan, we still would have been in the hospital for a couple days, with people (nurses, doctors, you name it) coming in and out a lot. With the home birth we get to have a lot more control over what goes on, and going with a midwife lets us let the labor and delivery happen a lot more on nature’s course than what a chart says. The Missus is a lot more calm about the impending arrival now than she was with Peter. Me too.

 

Another big difference is Peter. He’s very excited and happy that he’s going to be a big brother, which is great. But before he was born we were obsessive about the pregnancy, and devoted the bulk of our energy on it. We can’t do that now with him around, and I don’t mean to make that sound like a bad thing. I felt guilty about it for a while, but I’m past that. We’ve been doing a lot of preparation for the baby, in fact more than we did for Peter, probably. But it doesn’t really register in the same way because- What’s that, Peter? Yes, you can have a cookie. Where was I? Oh yeah, it doesn’t register- Peter, look in the pantry, we put the new ones in there.  Huh? Oh, it doesn’t register be- No, not those ones, I think we should have thrown them out a long time ago. Do you see the new ones in the front?  … was I doing something?

 

We came up with Peter’s name rather easily. I don’t recall the process all that well (actually, I don’t remember all that much before Peter was born too well, so bear with me), but my recollection is we had his name set very early. This time is the opposite. Oh, there are names we both like, but when we speak the name aloud and think of Baby (which will not be her name, I swear!) it will sound different somehow. It doesn’t help that there are more girl names than stars in the sky. It almost makes you want to go with something like… Baby. No! I would never be so mean! And I’d never be able to correct her when she’s naughty by putting her in a corner. I’d sooner name her Nevaeh. Well. Ok, no, that I wouldn’t do. But we’ve been calling her “Baby” since we found out Mommy was pregnant, and it has stuck. But it won’t be her name. I’d sooner name her Peter (which, for the record, is ok according to Peter – the older one, I mean. He said it’s a good name).

 

You know what else has changed since before Peter was born? The Office. Peter’s Mom watched The Office on DVD before Peter was born. Last night we watched it again, and it was a clip show (a clip show! I didn’t even know they made those anymore!).  Peter’s Mom said it reminded her of the fact that the show used to be funnier. But you knew it was in decline when Cousin Oliver started working at Dunder-Mifflin.

 

Peter, when you were a toddler you...

In these waning days of Peter-the-Only-Child, I feel I must record some Peter quirks that may go away as he gets older and more big brotherly.

 

1. "Wissin" or "wissun." This is Peter's all-purpose interrogative pronoun. It can be used for "what," "where," "who" and "why." For example, "wissin Gammie house?" should mean "where is Grammie's house." "Wissin dat?" should be "what's that?"

 

Note that I say "should be." It's a very flexible word, and Peter changes its meaning on a whim, which leads to another Peterism.

 

2. "[X]." "[X]?" "... No. [Y]."  This is a new one in his arsenal. It basically goes like this: Peter makes a statement, X. The statement is then repeated to Peter as a question, so as to confirm his meaning. Peter then pauses and denies that was his statement, with a tone of voice implying the other person really needs to pay attention better, then makes a new statement completely unrelated to the first.

 

3. His right hand. Peter likes to gesticulate with his right hand, specifically in regards to going “dis way.” Example: I tell him we’re going to the car to go somewhere, and he decides he’ll direct us towards the car by saying “dis way” while extending his hand out as if to shake hands. The hand is out firm and straight, and he lightly jabs the air when saying “dis [jab] way.” It’s an endearing little move, and will serve him well as a football referee signaling a first down.

 

4. “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter” or “Mommy Daddy Peter Baby.” Originally this was a specific reference to his family, like “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter go water park?” Simple enough. But as he got to be more of a motor-mouth, he’d start monologues that flow without much (obvious) purpose for many minutes at a time, and then he’d say “Mommy Daddy Baby Peter” at the end as if to signify the soliloquy was at an end. At least that’s how it seems to me. He can go from internal dialogue while playing to full-blown conversation without skipping a beat (or taking a breath).

 

5. I don’t remember if I ever put this up before, but a couple months ago we were reading one of Peter’s books with him and it had a bunch of big letter on the page. We’d ask him to point to specific letters and then go over some words that start with that letter. We were pretty pleased when he was able to identify Q. I asked him if he knew any words that started with Q. Without missing a beat he said “cucumber.”

 

6. His little chairs. He has two small, wood chairs that he doesn’t really use for sitting. Instead, he drags them around the kitchen floor so he can stand on them when at the kitchen counter. It’s actually pretty annoying, because he’ll drag them noisily across the tile, and then leave them blocking the path to wherever I’m going. But I know when he’s big enough to not need them anymore I’ll get weepy. Until that time I’ll just make empty threats to throw them out unless he lifts them properly off the floor and doesn’t leave them in anyone’s way.

 

7. Peter Songs. Peter is picky about what is played on the car radio. He prefers his music (he has a couple of nursery rhyme CDs) which he calls “Peter Songs.” They, of course, drive his parents a little batty after 30-40 times playing them. So we try to sneak in something we would prefer. Peter, though, is no dope, and he knows that what is being played is not “Peter Songs.” We’d tell him it is, but he knows the difference, and has told us that we are playing “Mommy Daddy Songs.” We once asked him if he liked what we were playing, and he said “No. I turn it off.”

 

 

The end of only childhood

Peter's sister is due to arrive on January 30th. That makes Peter the only show in town for only 4 more weeks. He has enjoyed being an only child to a degree (he loves attention, and I don't think that's ever going to change) but I fear that Mommy and I fail to entertain him to the degree we once did on a consistant basis. He asks for new friends, he asks to be sent to pre-school, he doesn't want us to chapperone at the prom, etc.

Well, a month from now it will all be different. He'll be Big Brother Pete, helpful aide to Mom & Dad. Changer of diapers, wiper-upper of spit-up. Maker of dinner, runner of errands. Yes, Peter will be a big boy who makes life so much easier for Mommy, Daddy and Baby Sister.

Right?