Doing well

So Josh is now a week old, and doing very nicely! He is getting a little chubbier around his cheeks and chin and is sleeping better at night now instead of staying awake from 12-3am. His sisters are doing very well having him home. Emily has complimented me on my tummy shrinking, but wants to know why it isn't small yet. I do too! I secretly hoped that under my very large belly lurked the body of supermodel which would magically reveal itself post delivery. Alas, my love of all things sweet has again proven to be my downfall. My supermodel body is currently hiding, but would be happy to reveal itself with just a bit more effort on my part!

Before Josh came, I had been stressing about dealing with a newborn. I had complained to friends that the newborn stage terrified me, and I really started enjoying them when they were a little bit less fragile. I had forgotten how much I love watching them sleep. I love the funny little faces they make, the way they stretch when they wake up, the way they smell after a bath, and all those uniquely newborn things. I also love that they sleep almost all day! So for now I am happy to snuggle with my little munchkin as he is sleeping and enjoy the quiet time during the day while the girls are at school!

Doing well

So Josh is now a week old, and doing very nicely! He is getting a little chubbier around his cheeks and chin and is sleeping better at night now instead of staying awake from 12-3am. His sisters are doing very well having him home. Emily has complimented me on my tummy shrinking, but wants to know why it isn't small yet. I do too! I secretly hoped that under my very large belly lurked the body of supermodel which would magically reveal itself post delivery. Alas, my love of all things sweet has again proven to be my downfall. My supermodel body is currently hiding, but would be happy to reveal itself with just a bit more effort on my part!

Before Josh came, I had been stressing about dealing with a newborn. I had complained to friends that the newborn stage terrified me, and I really started enjoying them when they were a little bit less fragile. I had forgotten how much I love watching them sleep. I love the funny little faces they make, the way they stretch when they wake up, the way they smell after a bath, and all those uniquely newborn things. I also love that they sleep almost all day! So for now I am happy to snuggle with my little munchkin as he is sleeping and enjoy the quiet time during the day while the girls are at school!

Joshua Edward Pilz is finally here!

Monday the 15th at 4:32pm, Josh was born. he weighed in at 8lbs almost 11 oz (10.8) and 21.5 inches long. Labor went really well once it got started. Just like with the girls, I had false labor a few days earlier. I went in to the hospital on Tuesday thinking it was the real deal, and it really quite convincing, but I never got past a 3 so they sent me home assuring me it would happen any day now. I went walking almost everyday at the YMCA hoping he would just fall out due to my friend gravity, but no luck. At my appointment on Friday, I was at a 4, but not having regular contractions, so I went home again this time sure it would happen over the weekend.

On Monday, Mom (who sweetly came Thursday responding to my distress call Tuesday) and I planned to go stroller shopping. But as I was getting out of the shower, my water broke. So, that ended the shopping trip, but yeah it brought home Karl from work and I finally got admitted to the hospital.

Just like with Sydney, despite water breaking, I wasn't having hard contractions for the first 2 hours. I was in pain from my hip so asked to get my lovely epidural in before things really got rolling since I was at a 5 when I was checked in. After a few hours at the hospital we decided to start the pitoccin to get the ball rolling. That ramped things up quite nicely, and so an hour or so later, my wonderful doctor came to check me again, and did something magical with her exam which took me from an "Oh this isn't comfy, but I can still watch a movie in between contractions" status to "Oh my gosh, I'm having a baby RIGHT NOW." After a few minutes to get ready and set up, I was off and pushing and he was born after only a few pushes.

The girls came by with Mom that evening to see him. Both girls oohed and ahhed over him which was really fun! They seemed shocked at how cute & how small he was. However when asked if they wanted to hold him, they back pedaled away as fast as possible! Sydney just shock her head, but Emily, being her funny self, replied "I'm not big enough. Maybe when I am 12" That just made me laugh! It did not occur to her that when she is 12 her 6 year old brother probably won't want to sit on her lap:)

They kept me there in the hospital until today, partially because they like to keep new moms 48 hours, but mostly because they were concerned about his "large" size and whether or not he would have blood sugar issues at the 40 hour point. I thought he was normal size for one of my munchkins, but they have a better safe than sorry policy I guess. We scampered home a few hours earlier after promising we would take him to the doctor on Friday. Not that he ever had any issues with his vital signs, but, oh well. He is happy to nurse, doesn't cry too much, which I am sure will change very soon!

So now we are all home & very happy, if very tired. Mom has a link on flickr for some very cute pictures that she took at the hospital. click here

Joshua Edward Pilz is finally here!

Monday the 15th at 4:32pm, Josh was born. he weighed in at 8lbs almost 11 oz (10.8) and 21.5 inches long. Labor went really well once it got started. Just like with the girls, I had false labor a few days earlier. I went in to the hospital on Tuesday thinking it was the real deal, and it really quite convincing, but I never got past a 3 so they sent me home assuring me it would happen any day now. I went walking almost everyday at the YMCA hoping he would just fall out due to my friend gravity, but no luck. At my appointment on Friday, I was at a 4, but not having regular contractions, so I went home again this time sure it would happen over the weekend.

On Monday, Mom (who sweetly came Thursday responding to my distress call Tuesday) and I planned to go stroller shopping. But as I was getting out of the shower, my water broke. So, that ended the shopping trip, but yeah it brought home Karl from work and I finally got admitted to the hospital.

Just like with Sydney, despite water breaking, I wasn't having hard contractions for the first 2 hours. I was in pain from my hip so asked to get my lovely epidural in before things really got rolling since I was at a 5 when I was checked in. After a few hours at the hospital we decided to start the pitoccin to get the ball rolling. That ramped things up quite nicely, and so an hour or so later, my wonderful doctor came to check me again, and did something magical with her exam which took me from an "Oh this isn't comfy, but I can still watch a movie in between contractions" status to "Oh my gosh, I'm having a baby RIGHT NOW." After a few minutes to get ready and set up, I was off and pushing and he was born after only a few pushes.

The girls came by with Mom that evening to see him. Both girls oohed and ahhed over him which was really fun! They seemed shocked at how cute & how small he was. However when asked if they wanted to hold him, they back pedaled away as fast as possible! Sydney just shock her head, but Emily, being her funny self, replied "I'm not big enough. Maybe when I am 12" That just made me laugh! It did not occur to her that when she is 12 her 6 year old brother probably won't want to sit on her lap:)

They kept me there in the hospital until today, partially because they like to keep new moms 48 hours, but mostly because they were concerned about his "large" size and whether or not he would have blood sugar issues at the 40 hour point. I thought he was normal size for one of my munchkins, but they have a better safe than sorry policy I guess. We scampered home a few hours earlier after promising we would take him to the doctor on Friday. Not that he ever had any issues with his vital signs, but, oh well. He is happy to nurse, doesn't cry too much, which I am sure will change very soon!

So now we are all home & very happy, if very tired. Mom has a link on flickr for some very cute pictures that she took at the hospital. click here

School Days are here again!

This morning Emily and Sydney were up and dressed and finished eating their cereal at 6:45. We picked out outfits last night, and I started getting lunches ready then. I was hoping to sleep in until 7am, but instead we got rolling as a family at 6:45! Emily had her backpack on at 7:00 and did not understand why I would ever suggest that maybe it could wait another hour until the bus was in our neighborhood.

So we brushed hair, double checked backpacks, added some clothes to Sydney's bag, brushed teeth, finished lunches and read two stories to kill some time. I went upstairs to get my camera, and got sidetracked on hunting down my sneakers so when I heard a bus rumble up around 8 am, I was surprised. Luckily I was downstairs, saw the route number and yelled for Sydney to come get on the bus. Very nice! So she came running down, I chatted with the bus drive about normal route times, since her route was the one I could not find in the paper, and took a few quick pictures. She was a tiny bit nervous at first, but not terribly nervous. I think riding the bus last year helped her out a lot! Our only major mistake today, other than not being outside, was forgetting to stick her name tag around her neck. I hope the bus driver catches that before she gets to school!

Emily of course was outside when Sydney left with her lunch box in hand. We waited the 10 more minutes and the neighborhood kids and their parents all waited taking pictures and laughing about the first day of school. Our cats were out amusing all the other kids, and everyone was excited. Emily was probably more nervous about the bus ride than Sydney was, but as soon as it came, she got in line and marched on the bus to find a seat. One quick wave, and she was off! After the bus drove away, on other the other moms started to cheer. Oddly enough, it was harder to see your kids get on the bus, than it was to take them to school and walk them to class. I wonder why!

School Days are here again!

This morning Emily and Sydney were up and dressed and finished eating their cereal at 6:45. We picked out outfits last night, and I started getting lunches ready then. I was hoping to sleep in until 7am, but instead we got rolling as a family at 6:45! Emily had her backpack on at 7:00 and did not understand why I would ever suggest that maybe it could wait another hour until the bus was in our neighborhood.

So we brushed hair, double checked backpacks, added some clothes to Sydney's bag, brushed teeth, finished lunches and read two stories to kill some time. I went upstairs to get my camera, and got sidetracked on hunting down my sneakers so when I heard a bus rumble up around 8 am, I was surprised. Luckily I was downstairs, saw the route number and yelled for Sydney to come get on the bus. Very nice! So she came running down, I chatted with the bus drive about normal route times, since her route was the one I could not find in the paper, and took a few quick pictures. She was a tiny bit nervous at first, but not terribly nervous. I think riding the bus last year helped her out a lot! Our only major mistake today, other than not being outside, was forgetting to stick her name tag around her neck. I hope the bus driver catches that before she gets to school!

Emily of course was outside when Sydney left with her lunch box in hand. We waited the 10 more minutes and the neighborhood kids and their parents all waited taking pictures and laughing about the first day of school. Our cats were out amusing all the other kids, and everyone was excited. Emily was probably more nervous about the bus ride than Sydney was, but as soon as it came, she got in line and marched on the bus to find a seat. One quick wave, and she was off! After the bus drove away, on other the other moms started to cheer. Oddly enough, it was harder to see your kids get on the bus, than it was to take them to school and walk them to class. I wonder why!

Hanging in there

It is down to the final few weeks before the baby comes (2 and a half weeks left), and so far we are doing alright. Yesterday Karl and I made a big push to get our bedroom clean. Emily had pointed out on a few occasions when we asked them to clean their room that ours was not a shining example of tidiness. Well, it is not quite perfect, but it is a HUGE improvement! Yeah us! We also got the girls to get their room clean. They finished off the last little bit with some micromanagement from Karl. They are pretty proud of themselves, but that pride never seems to care over until the next round of toys come out, so here's hoping it works.

The baby's room is not quite done. The room is painted, and it just needs to be decorated now. The crib & changing table are both us, I have everything I need in the room, but it just isn't really cute yet. So that is the goal for this week. I had forgotten how much my cats love changing tables & cribs. Apparently they are the best cat beds ever! So I am going back & forth between keeping the door to the room closed, and using my lint roller. When April & Caleb visited last week, Caleb got the crib, and he had no major complaints, but it needed to be de-furred before he could use it:) Sadly we also discovered that when Caleb is here in that room, the girls are more than happy to suggest to April that he play in that room with the BABY toys (translation...Get out of our stuff squirt!!). They even went so far as to politely shut the door once he was back in his designated area. Poor Josh. They have already moved all the artwork up on the fridge so it is out of baby height. I tried telling them that for the first few months, Josh won't be able to stand let alone crawl so their stuff really isn't in danger right away, but that didn't seem to impress them very much.

Mentally I am not exactly ready to deal with a newborn, but physically I am all for it. I guess the master plan is to make you unhappy enough with the last month of pregnancy that labor & delivery really doesn't seem that bad at all. In fact you are down right excited to go through it just so you can have your body back.

We also meet both the girls teacher on Thursday at their orientations and I like them all. Emily's teacher seem very nice, and I did warn her a little bit about some potential quirks. She doesn't have too many repeat friends from last year in her class, but then we didn't actually get a chance to see everyone in the class. Emily is beyond excited about school starting. Every morning I get a new daily count down.

Sydney will be riding the bus to her school (Logistically getting both girls to school that start at the same time was a little overwhelming, and since they offer and prefer busing for her preschool, we are going for it. Since she gets to ride the bus, I had to agree to Emily riding the bus as well.) The kicker will be that I was usually waltzing into school a few minutes before 9 last year. It will be more of a challenge to be ready for an 8:15 bus! I hope they can help me out until I am used to the new routine as they are such morning people and I am not! Sydney is also thrilled about school because her teacher has horses in the play area! She just loves playing with horses right now! I am worried about the nap-time hour in her class. She has not napped in 2 years. I took away naps because she would stay up until 9 or 10 with a nap. We will have to see how that part of school goes. Just 2 more days!! Yeah!!!