So a lot has happened since my last post... which apparently my venting worked because Mr. Isaac Graham Darden decided to come the very next day!!! (Sunday, May 20th at 10:22 in the morning). Thank goodness! He baked in the oven for a total of 39 weeks.
Isaac weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. A good 2 weeks older in-utero than his sister yet only 2 ounces heavier. He has light blonde/reddish hair and dark eyes which will most likely turn brown. He came out with some wicked nails, so I filed those down quickly!
Mara was so proud of her baby brother. She only reprimanded him the hospital for pee peeing on her Daddy. "Baby brother! I DON'T LIKE IT!" she yelled at him while wagging her finger. She handled everything better than I did - I was amazed. I think it definitely helped that Cherry and Claire were able to watch her the day he arrived and she enjoyed a trip to the park and the grocery store. Isaac's arrival = play time for Mara and her relatives! She seemed to understand that he was no longer inside of me by asking some questions. "Baby brother's not in your belly?"
"No, honey, he came out."
"He was born?"
"Yes, honey, Isaac was born."
Although she referred to the hospital as the "castle" and weeks later when she saw me unpacking my hospital bag, she asked if I was going back to the doctor. Such a memory!
Little Isaac and I hung out in the hospital until Tuesday. He and I got the hang of nursing much faster and better than Mara and I did. Little man was HUNGRY and refused to let me get but 30-60 minutes of sleep Sunday and Monday night, and considering I was in labor early Sunday morning with only 2 hours of sleep under my belt, I was pretty annoyed that he demanded the boobs so much. I am grateful, though, that he is willing and able to nurse. Zack stayed home with Mara those evenings to keep a routine going for her. But I did get visits during the day and she was incredible - no demanding or asking to go home, no fits, just hanging out, eating snacks, and talking up a storm. I had a nice snuggle bunny, too.
Amazingly, (although not so amazing if you consider my nursing comment) Isaac only lost 3 ounces at the hospital. Mara lost a lot more than that (I think she was discharged at 5 pounds 6 ounces or something like that from a 6 pound birth weight). As you can see, he was NOT pleased about being weighed. This picture CRACKS me up.
When we had our doctor's appointment at 4 days old, he'd already surpassed his birth weight and weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces. The nurse at the doctor's office said she was bragging to the other staff about having a newborn who'd already surpassed his birth weight. Here was his going home outfit and proud big sister waiting to leave.
We had to wait for me to be discharged, and Isaac, and then get his temporary birth certificate, and then get some paperwork. It was a lot of waiting, but not as much as when we were waiting for Mara's heart results. Speaking of which, Isaac's heart is A-O-K, as is his head (no aquaductal stinosis).
On the way home, Mara and Daddy decided they were in the mood for donuts... so before we even stepped foot in our door, we stopped here. I couldn't complain (at least not with my mouth full of donuts).
Mara received a few presents from Isaac - a couple at the hospital and this cootie bug game at home. She seemed thrilled that he got her a present.
He was so thoughtful. Haha.
I tried to snap a few photos of him when I got home over the next few days. It was so strange to say "son!"
The dogs took everything in stride again.
Once I got home, I craved some Mara time, so she and I found things to do together. She loves having her nails painted, but insisted on painting mine once I finished with hers. Here is the result... I was even helping to guide her hand. Scary, right?
Here's me and the little one.
We tried to settle into a routine... but sometimes we overlooked a few things... such as clothes. Hahaha.
We got a visit from Cherry and Grahampa the next weekend. Mara loves spending time with them, as you can see.
We try to keep ourselves entertained and ensure that Mara gets enough attention. It seems to be paying off because she hasn't asked to send him back to the hospital. We get in plenty of outside water play.
While Isaac sleeps in the Moses basket.
It usually turns into popsicle time, too. Check out this gorgeous face.
Here's Mara super proud of finding a rolly polly. She also loves to catch "dragonflies" which is what she calls fireflies. We have so many of them in our yard this year - it's so much fun to watch her running around barefoot and catching them.
Grandma and grandson!
Being a big sister is a big deal to Mara. There's at least one day a week I have to take her to daycare, which means I also take in Isaac... and she loves showing him off. "That's MY baby brother!" and she'll turn his seat around so everyone can see him. Her teachers said that she'll talk about him any chance she gets... it melts my heart. I love spending time with her - she's usually such a happy little girl that it's a joy to be with her. Her observations and statements make me laugh daily. (She has gotten two of her molars recently, so her hands have been in her mouth a lot!)
I love this picture. Zack pushed her from the garage and she goes zooming forward up the driveway and then the slope backs the car back up to the garage.
She's still very much a daddy's girl.
And quite the chef. She helps Zack make pancakes almost every morning (with real food).
We got to see Supergammy when my dad (Pop-pop) drove her up to visit. And here's a shot of Mom keeping Mara entertained. The keyboard gets played a lot.
Isaac's umbilical stump fell off the day before his 2 week appointment, so we were finally able to bathe him. We gave Mara a bath first but when we informed her Isaac would get his first bath once she was done, she set a record for fastest Mara bath EVER. She was in and out in a flash so that she could observe Isaac being cleaned.
At the 2 week doctor's appointment, he weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces! No eating issues, obviously, the fatty. He measured 20.5 inches, too.
We try to get our naps in around the house. He loves sleeping on Dad and is comforted by his voice.
Mara will always be our baby, but she is quick to correct us if we call her that. "I'm a BIG girl!"
Check out Isaac's fist pump! YAY!
My little family, lounging and watching a movie, or golf or something.
I promise to take some more pictures soon. We texted this picture to some of you, but I was amazed when Mara sat down and drew this (right handed), without any help or prompting or direction from me. She drew the circle first, then the squiggles on the top (hair), then put the eyes on, then did the mouth and went "oops, he has two mouths." At two and a half!
Some Mara funnies:
She told Zack that he couldn't kiss her "because of your sparkles." (she meant his whiskers, which sometimes we call prickles)
She told daycare she couldn't go pee pee on the potty "because of my penis." They explained (although we already have done this!) that little girls don't have penises. "Baby brother does?" she asked them. And they assured her that he did.
She pretended to call several different people on the phone (a remote she was using) and had conversations with them, saying "yeah" and "okay" and "whatre you doing today?"
When she paints with the color orange, she tells me that Pop-pop likes orange (something my mom had told her)
She is very attentive to Isaac and if he's crying, she'll come tell me "he needs to eat" or "Shhhh, don't worry, I'm here." She watches me pump breastmilk or he'll nurse from one side and when that's done she'll ask "you need to do the other nipple?" or "he needs the other nipple?" Once she asked "You all done milking?" Today she told me "he wants to play on his playmat." She has been very patient with his crying (usually between 5-9 in the evening) but will say "he hurts my ears."
She likes to do so many things by herself. She turned on the radio in her room and danced to the entire "Pour some sugar on me" song. Kid can dance! We also find out things she's done after the fact, such as moving a dining room chair to the thermostat and changing the house temperature... or we wondered why the hot water was not hot anymore and Zack found out she'd turned down the knob on the hot water heater in the garage.
That's the best I can do for now! Have a great week.
1 comment:
Oh my gosh, this post is a gift! Now I don't have to take my Prozac tomorrow - lol -- I can't believe how big Isaac is - and alllll the funny things Mara puts together, too. I will visit this post frequently, thanks honey!
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