Fattening up

Today was another weigh in for Callum and I'm happy to report he's done really well these last few days! He's gained a whopping 5 oz in 3 days which is pretty significant, and is now at 7 lbs, 3.5 oz. :) Dr. Safir wants us to keep doing what we're doing since it seems to be working - and we'll go back in for Callum's "2 week checkup" in a week (when he'll be almost 3 weeks, but given the amount of visits we've already had, he's giving us a break).

As for what we're doing - I'm still nursing first, then pumping like crazy afterward. We've been supplementing every (or almost every) meal after I nurse with whatever breastmilk I've pumped, and once that's run out (which doesn't take long!), we move onto formula, giving a couple more ounces until Callum is full.

I can't say the meds have increased my milk supply dramatically, although I do think I'm getting a little more than before. Hard to say if that's just because of the frequency with which I'm nursing and pumping or due to the meds, or both. Some of the literature I've read says that it could take several days or weeks for the domperidone to really kick in though, so I'm hopeful we'll still see a significant increase soon. :)

Weigh In

Yesterday morning was our weigh in for little Callum. The good news is, his weight is up from last Friday. The bad news is, the needle didn't move much, as he weighed in at 6lbs, 14.5oz (we were hoping he'd get up around 7lbs, 2oz or so).

What's more, Monday night his appetite finally seemed to kick in (which is a good thing), and he literally devoured every last drop of breastmilk I had pumped and been storing (which is a frustrating thing). Just when I thought I was getting a bit of an edge on him to build up some sort of supply, he catches up to me!

*sigh*

Dr. Safir wants us to now try supplementing, with either breastmilk or formula, after every feeding instead of just 2-3 per day and see how that'll do. We go back in on Friday for another weight check. We're still giving him all the breastmilk I'm pumping first, but have already had to give him an additional couple of ounces of formula yesterday and this morning since we've got nothing else to give the hungry monster!

The good news is, the pharmacy (finally!) had my meds ready. The prescription is a "compound" prescription, which basically means it's not sold by manufacturers but custom made.... so it took longer to fill than usual. However, I've now started on that and hopefully will see a difference in my supply here in the next few days. We'll see!

After Callum's doctor appointment, we dropped Logan off at school and then went out to see Date Night, a movie that everyone has raved about. Callum was a great kiddo and slept the entire time, so Jon and I had a couple hours of "downtime" to just enjoy being with each other and getting out of the house. The movie was hilarious and we had a lot of fun! We're hoping to catch another flick or two again this week before Jon returns to work (part time) next week. :)

One week old

I can't believe it's already been a week! On the other hand, I also sometimes find myself thinking, wait, it's only been a week?!?!

Time has flown by as we've adjusted to the newest member of our family. But, the labor, delivery, birth and time spent at the hospital all seem a distant blur in my memory now. Funny how labor will do that to you. :) I definitely need to scribble down a few notes about the day of labor, before I completely forget everything!


Because Callum was born in a different hospital from Logan, our regular pediatrician didn't get to see him the first day he was born. So, his first check up with Dr. Safir was actually earlier than usual, last Friday morning.

While waiting to see Dr. Dave, I decided to cut Callum's fingernails, since I hadn't yet done that and they were so super long that he was already cutting his face anytime he grabbed it. :(

Unfortunately, I cut the tip (or two) of his fingers, which threw him into a raging fit. Jon immediately grabbed him from me, scolding me for being so extremely cruel and practically amputating our newborn. I told him to relax. I did it with Logan when he was a newborn too. It's like the required initiation into our family.

Jon failed to see the humor in that comment.

Following tradition, a pic of Callum wrapped up in the blanket that my mom and aunt were brought home from the hospital in, and every other child born on my mom's side of the family, since then.

Thankfully everything looked great during his checkup. Callum is a strong muscular little guy who's very aware of his surroundings. Unfortunately, just like Logan, he has some weight gain issues. We knew this could be a possibility but I was really hoping it wouldn't be. However, he weighed 6lbs, 13oz, which is about a pound under his birth weight (in just 4 days!) and, given my history of battling a low milk supply, Dr. Safir wants us to be more aggressive this time around.

So, we're back to supplementing again. UGH.

We've been given the weekend to see if we can turn his weight around and get it back on the upward trajectory. We'll go in again tomorrow morning to do another weigh in and see. We've been instructed to continue breastfeeding and supplement 2-3 times a day. Dr. Safir knows I'm pumping in addition to nursing, and said to definitely use whatever breastmilk we have expressed first, before moving to formula. But, if we're out of breastmilk, then onto formula we go.

I supplemented with formula for Logan and he has turned into a wonderful kid (if I do say so myself!). And yet, the news still shook me emotionally. I had a rough couple of hours after the doctor's appointment, coming to terms with the news.

So, what am I doing?

I've spent the entire weekend with either a baby or a Madonna-looking S&M device attached to my boobs, to try and stimulate my milk supply as much as possible. So far it seems to be working, since we haven't yet had to break into the can of formula to supplement Callum's meals. But GODDAMN it's exhausting and hard work.

I'm basically nursing Callum every ~2-3 hrs during the day (he seems to be able to go longer at night so we're feeding him every ~4 hrs, or whenever he wakes up, to take advantage of the much needed sleep). After I nurse, for about 20-30 minutes, I then pump for another 20 minutes (we rented a hospital grade pump to help).

I also called my OB, and put in a request for a prescription of domperidone, a hormone supplement meant to help boost my milk supply. We'll see if that helps any as well (I didn't know about this option when I had Logan, since the drug is still pretty new in the States, and wasn't readily available then...)

We've spent Callum's first week getting to know his little squeaks and squirms - when he needs to burp, feed, or poop. He and I just got out yesterday afternoon to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we had this weekend for a short walk - it was quite lovely and he stayed awake the entire time, obviously taking in all the new sounds we heard, along the way.


His little umbilical stump also fell off yesterday, which seems so much earlier than with Logan! But very cool since it's one of those first big milestones that you look for during the first weeks of your newborn's life. :)

Jon and I are still re-learning all the newborn parenting tricks of the trades that we have long forgotten from Logan's days.

We've also had plenty of visitors of course. Callum has already met several of our close friends. My parents have visited quite often (most notably my dad since he sets his own hours), which has been helpful, especially during the week when Jon is out running errands and I need someone to just hold Callum so I can pump, shower, or God forbid, take a piss. ;-)


Jon's brother Aaron happened to be in town for work these past two weeks, so he, Jon's sister Catherine and husband Danny, all visited this weekend as well which was great.


Aunt Catherine also made a beautiful cake to welcome baby Callum into the family! :) (Thanks again Cat!)


Many have asked how Logan has adjusted to the arrival of his new baby brother. And I'm pleased to report, so far, so good! He had a good, but rocky time, with my parents while Jon and I were in the hospital. He definitely missed us, even though he enjoyed the extra attention and spoils that my parents gave him. You could tell since, he was literally SINGING, when he woke up the first morning we were all home together as a family again. Jon and I chuckled as we listened to his random notes bellowing out from his room - he spent a good 15 minutes just lying in his bed performing his greatest hits. It was clear he was happy to be home again, in his own bed, and with his Mommy and Daddy just across the hall.

One thing we've noticed since Callum was born, is how much BIGGER Logan now seems to us. He truly is the BIG kid in the family now! :)

Since then, Logan's been very curious about Callum - I'd say more so than when at the hospital. At first he called Callum "Mommy's baby brother", but now he's identified with Callum as his own baby brother. He joins us in bed in the mornings and asks where his baby brother is every time - and when he sees Callum, he softens his voice to this squeaky little baby voice and says "Hi baby brother" while petting Callum's head really softly. He also likes to lay his face down close to Callum's face or top of his head, smiling when Callum's downy soft hair "tickles him". He has helped Daddy feed Callum a bottle of milk, watched while I nurse (at first he thought Callum was "eating you Mommy!") and tries to give Callum a pacifier anytime it drops out of Callum's mouth.

His interaction with Callum has been the most adorable thing ever and we love it. :)

New toys!

I gave him another beautiful son....

Another future football player.

He gave me the new Canon EOS Rebel T2i SLR Digital Camera and Slik Pro 340DX Tripod (for all those low light settings where I don't like to use the flash).

The camera's highlight is its HD movie mode, which I can't wait to play around with. :)

Fair trade I think.

(For those who are photography fanatics, here's an in depth review of the camera.)

Announcing....

Our second son, Callum Oliver Shipman.


Logan's baby brother was born Monday night, April 19th, at 10:14pm PDT. He weighed 7lbs, 12oz and measured 19" long. Though he's smaller than Logan was, he seems so much chunkier! I think it's the short Chinese/Mexican genes that make him appear so much heavier than he really is. ;-)


I thought I'd hold off posting about Callum until we actually had some time to decompress once back home (we came home this afternoon), and allow me the time to put my thoughts together on his labor and delivery. But, I'm realizing that may not happen soon enough - so a short announcement will have to do for now. :)

One of these days, I'll get around to writing up a few more details on his birth, I promise.


In the meantime, let's just say Callum has made his own entrance in the world unique and not at all similar to Logan's. He's going to be a tough contender to his brother, that's for sure.

And I wouldn't expect it any other way.


Welcome to our family Callum - we love you and can't wait to watch you grow and develop into your own.


(Most pics are courtesy of my mom and dad, until I have a chance to post up a gallery of some of our own - Thank you Zafu and Zabuton!)

Growling

Logan is in love with growling at everything (and usually at poor Grover). Here he is, demonstrating his growling prowess, between bites of cheese. ;-)

Outside in the Sunshine!

We're having a snack break on the front porch before resuming our bike riding and rocket launching (thanks to Jessie and her birthday party favor from last night!!) :)

Zabuton Pears

See all that brown crud smeared across Logan's face? That's leftovers from the pears that Logan just devoured. One of his favorite snacks, he calls them "Zabuton Pears" because he was first introduced to the sweet fruit via my dad. :)

Turtle Soup

To most people, at 37 weeks today, I'm finally full term (although there's some folks, like my OB, who considered me full term as early as last week). It's nice to know we won't be running any risks with the baby if he decides to show early.

I've been doing pretty good, feeling great overall, and feel like I'm managing the pregnancy well these last few weeks. I'm just now getting over the head cold I caught from Logan last week, which is good because the congestion, combined with my constant pee breaks in the middle of the night, was really disturbing my sleep.

I've also been managing through Braxton Hicks for a few weeks now - but just within the last couple of days, I've noticed they've really kicked into high gear. They're much more frequent (to the point that I sometimes don't feel a break between them), and much stronger.

Don't worry, I'm not yet in labor. ;-) But, my body is absolutely getting ready.

My OB appointment today went fine - weight gain, blood pressure, baby's heart beat, all check out ok. My cervix is extremely thin and the baby's head is right where it should be, sitting on my pelvis. I also passed my mucus plug this morning - which might be more info than you wanted to hear - it certainly was for Jon. ;-) But, it suddenly lit a bit of a spark in his eyes.... and he's now decided we're going to see this little guy within the next week.

We'll see. You can have contractions and pass your mucus plug sometimes days, and sometimes weeks, prior to labor. So there's no real indication.

Still, he asked me if, same as last time, I don't want an epidural this time around? I confirmed.

So he then reminded me , Okaaaaaay. But if you change your mind, just remember, the safe phrase is "Turtle Soup". I'm not going to get you the epidural unless you say that phrase.

Got it.


Why "Turtle Soup"? I have no idea. I guess because it'd prove I really want the drugs rather than just screaming out in pain? Who knows. This is just how my husband's mind works.

28 months old

Over the past weekend, Logan turned 28 months old. I've been wanting to do a post on this milestone for a few days now, but have been soooooooo busy (nesting has now kicked into hyper drive!) and very very tired that the last thing I want to type out is another blog post. :)

However, this one is important to me. Perhaps more than usual. Why? Because I think it's very likely the last "birthday" milestone post I do for Logan, while he's still an only child.


About a month or two ago, I started to feel more and more sentimental about Logan's last days as an only child. I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with my little guy. With each day and week that passes us by, I only get that much more emotional about the limited time left with Logan as an only child. And while Jon and I may be excited about welcoming baby #2 into our family, I'm not so sure Logan feels the same way. In fact, I bet this baby isn't anywhere at the top of his agenda.


He absolutely understands there's a baby growing inside his Mommy. And, he often talks to my belly, pats and kisses and hugs it, and sometimes separates out toys and items in the house that "belong" to him versus his baby brother.

Helping himself to some cheese in the bottom drawer of the fridge which has pretty much become his drawer. ;-)

But, I don't think he understands that his baby brother will be joining us for good. That he will be joining our family and staying, not just visiting for a few days or a week. That he will be commanding a lot of his Mommy's attention and time, especially in those first few months. That he will soon share a room with Logan, share toys, share clothes.

If I were Logan, I might be thinking "Waaaaait a minute. I didn't sign up for this shit! I'm 100% happy running Mommy and Daddy around on my own!"

(In fact, as the oldest, I bet I did think that!)

So, we shall see.

You mean that baby is staying? For good?

As for Mr. Logan - he's doing wonderfully, of course. ;-) His potty training has really improved at school (he's continued to do well with us at home but had a bit of a set back and lost interest at school). I believe a lot of his improvement is due to Miss Kim, his teacher from two classes ago, who recently moved into our classroom. YAY!! We love her and I'm so glad to have her back. She's been very encouraging about his potty training and that seems to be all Logan really needed. Well, that and a few sticker rewards as an extra incentive never hurt. ;-)

Now, he asks to go potty rather than being asked if he needs to go. SCORE! I hear he also stands nearby to clap and cheer on his friends who are being potty trained too. hehehe

Lately I've noticed Logan has taken to chasing all the (poor) animals around the house, under the tables, behind the couches, under the beds. He RAWRS really loudly, with arms and hands outstretched, ready for any fistful of fur he can grab onto as the animals scream past him, trying to stay out of his reach. He absolutely torments the shit out of Grover. Odin merely puts up with him.


I know everyone says we're eventually going to wish he were silent, but right now, we are so thrilled with how verbose Logan is. We remember the days when he wasn't yet talking (and, nervously, think about the days soon to come when we'll have another not-yet-talking baby to take care of!) and how hard and frustrating it was for us to care for our little guy. The fact that he can carry on conversations with us is wonderful.

And, he's adding his own "flair" where he can. Right now, his favorite word to use (pretty much inserted as every other word in a sentence) is "upsie" (for oopsie). He uses it ALL the time. It's hilarious.

With his constant commentary also comes the ability to vocalize his feelings, and understand the difference between right and wrong, more and more. So, when he gets frustrated and hits me, I now pause and kneel down to talk at his level. I tell him that he shouldn't hit his Mommy (nor any of his friends, family, etc.), that it hurts, and that we don't like to hurt our friends and the ones we love. He stops, listens and then says "I'm sorry Mommy", followed by a big hug and kiss.

I know it won't last forever, but I must admit, it's pretty sweet right now. :)

Let's go Sharks! Let's go!

One of Jon's vendors invited us to the Sharks game this evening. Logan is having a blast. :)

Breakfast of champions!

Jon and I found a cute little French bistro for brunch, before heading back home.

Just received our food and it's gorgeous! Time to dig in. Baby will be happy. ;-)

Date Night

What a gorgeous view!

Up in the city for the night for a party sponsored by Jon's work. They're putting up employees (who live outside the city anyway) at The Westin. Wheeee!! :)

Right at home

Grover's doing great, in case anyone was wondering.

School Pics

One year ago, Logan's class looked like this:


This year, his class looks like this (with a few kids missing!):


Then:


And, now:


Jon teased me that he looks all 70's out with his long shaggy hair and brown striped shirt - and that it might as well be a pic of him instead.

Ummm, NO.

This would be a pic of Jon instead (at 2 yrs old).

Easter Weekend

Last Friday night the Easter activities began. I had bought several Easter egg decorating supplies, boiled about 2 dozen eggs that afternoon and invited the Jodoins over that night so that Robert and Logan could do a bit of Easter egg coloring. I had set everything out prior to picking Logan up from school that day, so when we got home, and he saw the array of arts and crafts on the table, he immediately put on his smock (informing me he was SUPER MAN MOMMY!), ready for some action. I had to distract him for awhile, telling him we couldn't start until Robert showed up, so he was raring to go by the time the Jodoins arrived. :)


The boys had a terrific time - we only had one casualty with the colored water (poor yellow, was mostly spilled on the table, before we could use it to paint many of the eggs). We had a couple eggs that were cracked since the boys weren't as delicate with them as we would have liked. But overall, I think it was a successful evening.

After the egg coloring activity, we all ate dinner and then the boys played and screamed and yelled and chased each other around the house until they were tuckered out. We put all the kids (Logan, Robert, Connor) down for the evening and then played a game of Alhambra, yet another new game Jon has roped us all into. It was tons of fun, I won! And Jenn came in a verrrrry close 2nd (although, she reports in her blog that she won so who the heck knows now). The important thing is, we totally left the guys in the dust. ;-)


I realized this weekend that I never posted about Easter last year and what a bummer! Because, it was our first experience of Campbell's Eggstravaganza that was a crazy experience. Logan had just learned to walk a few months prior, so he was still a bit unsure on his footing, especially when compared to the savvy 2 year old running machines or worse, their parents.

Jon and I were aghast and totally blown away by the fact that the parents just picked up their children and RAN out to the center of the circles, collecting eggs on behalf of their kids, and leaving smaller children (like ours) to stand alone, bewildered and empty handed. Luckily, Logan ran into a very nice girl who shared an egg or two with him, and it couldn't have made him happier.

(Enter memory lane with a few pics from last year's event)


So, this year we were PREPARED. We brought BACKUP. Enter Tia Catherine.


While Jon parked, Catherine, Logan and I staked out a nice little spot near the edge of the 2 yr old ring, getting ready to let loose. I warned Catherine of the madness that would ensue. How kids and parents alike would be RACING to grab any and all eggs they saw. She must not have believed me. When the flag was raised and all kids were allowed in the ring, Catherine and Logan took their sweet time finding the perfect little egg or two, only to be beaten out by the other eager parents clamoring to fill their precious son or daughter's baskets with eggs.

Somewhere in all that madness are Catherine and Logan!

Tia Catherine wised up quickly though, and competed with the best of them. She found a group of unclaimed eggs which she quickly set Logan down to, "roping off" the area with her arms and pushing other kids and parents out. Their goal was 5 eggs. Logan scored 4. Good job Cat! ;-)


After the Campbell egg hunt, we had a delicious lunch at Hobbee's before meeting up with a number of our friends at Sky High Sports, a warehouse sized trampoline center, to partake in a day's worth of activities celebrating Nathan's birthday (Happy Birthday Nathan!).

Logan likes to jump, but is still learning and the bouncy houses intimidate him a little I think. His reaction to the trampolines was similar - he was very cautious but seemed to pick up interest as time passed, since Daddy and Tia Catherine were bouncing all over the place with him, not to mention Robert (and Jenn), Jamie (and Julie), and Kim. :) I think he was enjoying his time by the end of the session.


Jon split with "the boys" to wait in line at the Apple store, for their reserved iPads, while Catherine and I headed back home to put Logan down for a nap. Jon actually got home just about the same time that Logan was falling asleep, so he snuck in and laid down with Logan, showing him the fun new glossy toy he had just scored. Jon had just downloaded a simple "Trucks" flashcard app on the iPad, so they ran through that before Logan finally fell asleep. :)

While Logan napped, I rested and Jon and Catherine played a round of Alhambra (where this time, Catherine whipped Jon's butt, noticing a pattern?!?!). We then filled up several (and I mean SEVERAL) plastic eggs full of chocolate candies and Catherine did a KICKASS job at hiding them all around the front yard while I distracted Logan once he woke from his nap.

He had a BLAST during his own personal egg hunt in the front yard - yelling and pointing "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!" every time he saw another neon green or pink or blue egg peeking out of a bush or tree or corner. It was awesome and we all had a really fun time.


After Catherine took off, we packed up the car and headed over to the Hickson's house to continue visiting with friends and enjoying Nathan's birthday festivities. We were all pretty tired from such a long day we ended up going home rather than staying over, so that we could put Logan down at home. I was noticing his cough more and more and a few more sniffles and runny nose (and, based on Monday, I'm glad we did come home early!).

Sunday morning we headed over to my parent's house for EVEN MORE Easter fun. My dad whipped up a DEEEEEEE-licious batch of homemade pancakes. Logan helped prep the batter but wasn't as interested in flipping the hot cakes this time around. By then he was getting pretty hungry (and finally climbed into his booster seat asking me for some pancakes), and I think he was also starting to feel more out of sorts from his cold. :( Still, we had a great breakfast and enjoyed everyone's company.


While Logan napped, I coaxed my brother, Zane, into hiding all the eggs (it's great what you can get the Aunts and Uncles to do!) around the house, so Logan could do another hunt when he woke up from his nap. It had been raining most of the day so we decided to do the egg hunt inside the house this time, rather than outside. Which made for a more challenging hunt since there are LOTS more places to hide eggs! Zane did a great job at creating some really cool hiding places. :)


After everything was set up, we decided to break out Alhambra once more, this time with my mom and dad. I did SO TERRIBLE, coming in the very last last spot. But the surprise of the day was MY MOM! who totally killed all of us in her winnings. Poor Jon, batting three for three now in the loss department. I wonder how many more times he'll play before returning to one of the other games he excels in? ;-)

Logan had a blast with his third, and final, Easter egg hunt after nap time. I was afraid he might not find some of Zane's more challenging hiding spots but he did great! And of course, absolutely loved the game. Afterward (and just like the day before with the hunt at home), he spent a good 20-30 minutes carefully taking apart each and every egg, collecting his winnings. He quickly learned he could shake the egg to know instantly if it was "worth" opening.

Those with M&Ms were worth opening. Those with stickers/tattoos were, sadly, not.


As you can tell from this post - we were busy busy bodies and had a lot going on. It was definitely an exhausting weekend - but oh so much fun!! :)

(Click on any of the pics above to get to the larger album of all Easter pics taken)