Brightening My Day

A really, really cool thing happened yesterday after some really, really not so fun things. I finally took Luke to the doctor to get his reflux checked out. He was spitting up profusely and crying for about 30 minutes after every feeding. I knew the signs well enough from Max~ Luke definitely has reflux~ and it was finally bad enough to warrant medicine. I hate putting my kids on meds, I really do. But, off to the doctor we went and then to the pharmacy where, surprise surprise, I found out that Luke never got added to our prescription insurance. I immediately freaked out, thinking that we had missed the deadline to enroll him. I quickly found out that we were still fine, but I was still feeling a little frazzled from the whole ordeal. Then it happened...

I went home and found a nice note and a package of double-stuffed Oreos at our front door. Our home teachers had dropped them off earlier, not knowing anything about my lousy afternoon and evening. It was such a small thing, but it made me smile. It also was comforting to realize how well cared for we really are. In short, it pretty much made my day :)

As an aside, Luke weighed in at 9 pounds 15 ounces at 1 month and 1 day. That's up over 2 pounds from his 2 week checkup. Guess that growth spurt last week really did some good!

End of Summer Fun

Today was the last day for us to go to the spray park, so off we went as a family to play in the very hot sun. It was in the high 90s today, which made it the perfect day to go play in the water. It was a good time, especially for me as I got to sit and watch Luke lay contentedly on the blanket the entire time. It still amazes me that a baby can be awake and not crying; Max never, ever did that. Well, not until he was 4 months, at least. So grateful to have a quieter baby :)

4 Weeks Old

It occurred to me this morning that I never got a good picture of Luke in his blessing outfit last week, but lucky for me he wore it again today. I have to get him in it before he outgrows it. This week went surprisingly well for us; I was really nervous about having Darreck at work, especially since he worked days all week. However, we all survived and I did much better at handling both boys than I thought I would. It also helped that I had some great friends invite Max over for playdates on two mornings this week. I love, love, love our awesome support system!

The only downside to this week was that we didn't sleep much, and I'm still trying to figure out why. Not quite sure if Luke is suffering from reflux or from a growth spurt- you would think the difference would be pretty obvious, but it's really not. I know for sure he has the signs of reflux, just not sure if that's what's keeping him (and everyone else) awake at night. Time will tell. Hopefully we get it figured out pretty soon, though, because I'm not the best mommy I can be when sleep deprived. I get really cranky when I haven't had enough sleep; just ask Max, poor guy. He's gotten more than his share of short-tempered answers this week. Poor kid, but he keeps telling me he loves me, even when I'm not so sure I deserve it. What a sweet little man.

Darreck's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated the birth of my slightly crazy, very loud, incredibly loving, immensely funny husband. He had to spend the day at work (booo!) but we got to hang out as a family in the evening. Darreck is in the midst of teacher prep week, so he's working days right now as opposed to his usual evening schedule. Anyways, we dropped by his work potluck then went home to feast on lobster tail, shrimp scampi, crab cakes, and wild rice. My family then met us for his cake which, as per his request, was made entirely of doughnuts. I've got to stop telling him I'll make whatever kind of cake he wants. I'm kind of afraid of what his creative brain will come up with next year! He also opened presents from my family- an indoor grill from my mom and dad, a video game from Kayla, and cologne from my grandma. He got his present, a new baseball mitt, from Max, Luke, and me last week. We let him go with Max to pick it out :) After cake we were supposed to go miniature golfing, but the weather chose not to cooperate. So, after eating massive amounts of doughnuts, we went out for ice cream. So much for loosing those last ten pounds of baby weight...

It was a great day, we're lucky to have him.

Luke's Baby Blessing

This was a really, really special weekend for our family. Grandma Hess came up on Friday, and we were able to spend some time with her and introduce her to little Luke. Saturday we went to Farmer's Market in the morning then to our favorite family cafe- The Log Cabin Cafe- in Choteau in the evening. Today, however, was the main even- the baby blessing.

Not sure exactly how this worked out, but our family completely took over Sacrament Meeting today. I played organ and a special musical number on violin, Darreck blessed Luke, and my dad and Grandma Necia spoke. Pretty sure our ward is sick of us now :) We were also honored to have the Allred family and my best childhood friend, Brianna Driscoll, come and join us for the day. We felt very loved by our friends, our family, and our ward family. After church we went to Giant Springs park and enjoyed a picnic with all the family. It was a very relaxing and spiritually uplifting day.

A few things I remember from the blessing. 1. He hiccuped all the way through it :) and 2. Darreck blessed him to: grow strong physically and spiritually, rely on the scriptures to guide him, be a good example to his older brother, be brave enough to serve a mission, establish a good relationship with his Heavenly Father through prayer, and find the spouse who would be perfect for him and that he could take to the temple. There was, of course, more, but those seemed to be the main themes. It was a beautiful blessing, and hopefully one that he can live righteously enough to fulfill.

Birthday Bash~2 Week Checkup

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows. I started out very early (way, way too early) by taking Luke to the doctor for his 2 week checkup. He got a clean bill of health! His stats were:

• 7 lbs 10 ounces- 17th percentile
• 20-1/2 inches (the same as his birth length)- 45th percentile
• 33.2 cm head circumference- 3rd percentile

Not sure why my boys have such small heads, but I think it makes them look cute. They don't look quite so much like the typical bobble-headed newborns. The doctor also got to see how Luke cries after a feeding when he was there yesterday, but we didn't come to any definite conclusions. Well, we did come the the conclusion that our boys just like to cry, a lot. Such is life :)

We also had a birthday party for Bryan, Darreck, and myself yesterday at Hale's house. Even though it's before our actual birthdays, we try to fit it in where we can. We had a barbecue and ice-cream cake and a good time was had by all. Darreck got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure from Bryan, so he's good to go for another year. 

First Real Bath

Luke hit a major milestone yesterday when he lost his umbilical cord stump. Not entirely sure why, but that always makes me a little sad, like he lost his last tie to me or something. Irrational, I know. Anyway, losing the stump also meant that he could get a real bath for the first time at home, just in time for church tomorrow. He liked it at first, but the initial interest didn't last forever. Unfortunately, he hates getting dried and dressed. Can't really blame him; I'm sure he gets pretty cold. 

He was a trooper, and he's just so dang cute. It's been a great first two weeks!

Last Few Weeks of Summer

Darreck quit his summer job when Luke was born, so we've been enjoying some serious daddy time. However, that also means that I haven't had to be alone with the boys since Luke was born; I'm starting to get nervous about when he has to go back to work :)

Today I tried to ease myself into the transition, so I sent my big boys to the lake with Grandma and Grandpa while I stayed home and chilled with baby Luke. It was so calm and peaceful and relaxing. Great day for everyone!!!

He Can Hear :)

Luke failed his initial newborn hearing screening, so we went back to the hospital today to have it checked out. Like we knew he would, he passed with flying colors. The theory is that he had fluid in his ears after birth that just took some time to dry out. He did initially have problems responding to sound when we first brought him home, but it's been getting better every day. We're all really happy with the results and happy to have it behind us.

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks- except the one of Max holding Luke, that's from today. And, Max only just about dropped Luke once. I call that success :)

Baby's First Week

We had a wonderful first week with baby Luke! Just a few observations that I don't trust myself to remember:

• I forgot how much babies sleep! That, or Max never really slept that much (which is equally possible). Luke is giving me one good 4 hour stretch followed by a 3 hour stretch every night, and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.
• I was totally obsessed with finding a pattern with Max's sleeping and eating, and I'm completely ignoring it this time. And, I'm so much happier this way. Sometimes it pays to relinquish control. 
• I love not having to worry about colds and flues in August, but recovering from pregnancy in 90+ degree heat isn't much better than being pregnant in 90+ degree heat. 
• Luke, so far, is a wonderful baby. He passed his jaundice tests (barely, but he passed), and he's kept the crying to a minimum so far. He's just been a good natured little guy up to this point. 
• Max has done better with the transition than I ever thought he would. I have the world's best little preschooler. Yeah, he's been a little hyper, but he's had no signs of jealousy or anger towards Luke. I'm so proud of him!

Everything this time around just seems so much easier. That's really the only way I can sum it all up. With Max, everything was up in the air- school was barely done, Darreck didn't have a job yet, and we weren't sure where we'd be living in a month. Now, Darreck gets to spend three weeks home with us, and we're extremely settled for the time being. I feel overwhelming gratitude for not just my wonderful baby, but also for our circumstances. I feel like I'm really getting to enjoy having a newborn this time around, and I'm trying to soak in every minute. 

My Boys

I love having my three boys! Max has been a trooper this week. Not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I assumed we'd have some jealousy issues and a lot of whininess. However, Max has been hyper but very good all week. He's so excited about life right now that his little body can barely contain it. He definitely loves his new baby brother.

In Luke news, we had him checked for jaundice yesterday and today and, while his levels were a little high, we aren't going to have to treat him. I'm so relieved I can't even put it into words. He's also been sleeping great at night, and we're going to enjoy that for however long it lasts :)

Little Luke at the Park

We went to Giant Springs today so Max could feed the fish, but Luke stole the show playing with, or more accurately in, big brother's toys. Cute, cute :)