This Isn't So Bad

I'm happy to say, although we're only four days into this gig on our own, that going from two kids to three isn't nearly as bad as going from one to two.  It's actually pretty manageable.  I can only imagine how much better it will be when I'm getting some decent sleep!  So Wednesday morning found us waking up with no Gigi here.  That meant I now had to get up when the girls did.  As luck would have it, and it's lasted each of the three mornings since then, they didn't get up until 8 o'clock.  Even better was that Duncan was able to get them up for me and bring them downstairs.  That has worked out quite nicely.  As timing went, it was a little off because this was the same time that Brady decided he needed his next meal so I found myself trying to get the girls their yogurts, etc while nursing Brady at the same time.  You get pretty good doing things with one hand, that's for sure.

Our primary mission for the day was to take Brady to his 2-week doctor's appointment.  All went well with that.  He weighed in at 8 lbs, 8 oz which means he had gained nearly a pound from his birth weight.  Dr. Anne said they hope all babies at least make it back to birth weight by the two weeks so obviously this was very good.  He measured 20.5 inches (half inch increase) and his head was 36.4 centimeters.  His weight and length are in the 50th percentile and his head is in the 25th.  He definitely has a smaller head than the girls who were and are in the 75th to 100th percentile.  Dr. Anne did have to take a look at his belly button.  A portion of it had fallen off before and actually all that was left was some dried blood which she cleaned up.  Since it seemed like it was kind of leaky, she stuck this long thing that looked like a match into his belly button to try and seal it up, I guess you could say.  It didn't hurt him or anything.  It still looks a little red so I need to keep my eye on it.

After his appointment, I decided to give Publix a try.  I quickly discovered how much of a challenge it will be to take three as far as the cart situation goes.  The only cart that would possibly work is this one in the picture. I tried putting the car seat in the front seat portion but then determined that that spot is pretty precarious and the girls could probably hit into the car seat very easily and knock it over.  So that left putting it into the main part of the cart which then obviously precludes you from getting very many groceries.  Clearly this arrangement wasn't going to work if I'm going for a regular grocery store run.  But, since I wasn't getting much, it worked out this time.  Brady was a peach and stayed sleeping the whole time.  Our first outing was complete and all went better than expected.

Duncan got home at a respectable hour and took the girls to Grandma and Grandpa's pool.  This had been their tradition nearly every day while my mother was here and we didn't want to end it just yet.  Calleigh continues to flourish  and is now working on her backstroke.  Here's the link here (some have already seen this).

Thursday was outing number two.  This time we went to the mall.  This was a good set up because the girls could play in the playground while I fed Brady.  The key is trying to figure out how it all works timing wise with him needing to eat.  On Wednesday, I fed him at 10:15 so he was fed right before we left.  We got home at 12:30 so it worked well with him eating before I feed the girls at 1:00.  This time, he ate at 11:30 at the playground and then was fine until after the girls went for their naps at 2:00.  Obviously, at only two weeks old, we're too early to get on a schedule but it will be nice when we get to that point.  

I can't be kept back from yard sales for long so we were back on the hunt on Friday.  With the three of them now, I'm much more discerning about where we go.  I can't be hopping in and out of the car ten times.  I'm limiting us to only really good ones that have baby or girl stuff.  We ended up stopping at only two places and got a couple of things.  There was another one we were going to stop at but I couldn't find it.  I find most of the yard sales on Craig List and now and then, people don't post the actual address but list the road or the crossroads.  This was one such time.  I couldn't find the darn yard sale and all I could think of was "I need a smart phone!"  It would have been so nice to look the ad back up.  In the end, I had to call Duncan to look it up for me but then we determined that they must have taken the ad down because he couldn't find it.  So yeah, I'm thinking I need a new phone sooner than later.  We'll see.

Friday afternoon was my regular grocery time and we worked it out so that Duncan took the girls to the pool while Brady came with me.  I remember when I would cringe going out with Calleigh at this age because she couldn't go more than 15 minutes without crying.  I was always stressed out waiting for the wailing to start while I was only on aisle 5.  No such problems with Brady.  Even while awake, he just lies there.  I kind of felt like wailing though when I had to pay.  I only had about 15 coupons and my bill came out to more than $100.  Yikes!  Jennifer and I were commiserating that the Extreme Couponing show is wrecking things for us ordinary people because it seems like there haven't been as good of deals lately.

I made it home just a few minutes before the Isidros arrived.  They came over for the traditional Thai meal that we do when either of us has a newborn or newborns as the case may be.  Calleigh was very excited to have Braelyn over and they didn't waste much time dressing up in princess garb.  The four of us marveled at how four short years ago it was just the four of us adults and now there are six kids between us.  Amazing.

Today, Brady made his church debut.  He slept through the first part of it in his car seat and then during the second half he ate.  Since we were in the back row, I decided I would just nurse him there rather than going to the mother's room.  It gets a little tricky especially since Aubree is always trying to hang on me.  I was scared someone might see something they may not have wanted to but I think I pulled it off.  For Sabbath School, we all went to Calleigh's class since it was her "graduation" day.  Next week she's going to a class for 4- and 5- year olds so it was the last day in her 3-year old class.  Next week, we'll be back in the regular Cradle Roll class since that is Aubree's real class technically.  This also marks the last Sabbath that I'm the leader (although I obviously haven't taught the last three weeks).  I helped clean out all the bins after class today and officially handed over the reins to the next person. I enjoyed helping out but I'm glad I won't have that responsibility for the next while.

Look at those strong neck muscles!

Of course, she refused to smile for her graduation picture.

In other news, the nursing thing with Brady has prompted some interesting behavior from the girls.  I've had some leaking issues this week and had to bring out the pads.  Aubree saw me putting one in my bra and the next thing I knew, she was taking the coasters off the end table and putting them in her shirt.  She told me she was putting them in her "booby bra."  The next day when I was getting Aubree changed into her nap jammies, out came one of the actual pads from her shirt.  Apparently she had upgraded to the real thing.  Meanwhile, Calleigh decided it would be a good idea if she and Aubree nursed each other.  Up went Aubree's shirt and Calleigh situated herself on Aubree's lap.  I was waiting for Aubree to scream because I just didn't see it ending well (I was picturing Calleigh biting her or something) but Aubree just giggled.  Calleigh even switched sides after a few minutes like she sees me do.  When they were done, they switched and Aubree became the baby.

The overnights are pretty much the same.  He went nearly five hours one night but I think that was just a fluke.  It's usually still about every three hours like 11p/2a/5a.  I'm still down on the couch but I'm thinking of transitioning up to his room and the crib at any time now.  Just need to get around to it.

I think that's about it.  Have a great rest of the weekend.