First Date

Last week, we had such a fun visit with my friend Megan and her newborn daughter Marin. Marin was born 1 week before Tanner...she was a healthy 9lb 9oz and was actually a week overdue! Poor Megan, not fun when it's your 5th baby! Tanner weighed in at 6lb 8oz at his 2 week visit, so Megan and I guess that Marin looks to be about twice his weight here :) Here is a picture of them from their first play date together, and I'm sure there will be many more to come!
It is so fun that our babies are going to be the same age and we will be able to go through the same stages together! Megan is a wonderful nurse friend of mine, we worked at the pediatric clinic together, before she came to work with me at Kaiser, and I am so grateful to have her as not only one of my nursing peers, but also a great friend. She is the voice of logic and reason for me when I have concerns about parenting...she's the expert with 5 children after all and I always feel better after talking to her.

Isn't it cute how the babies both have the same pose!

14 days old

Tanner has made it to his 2 week mark, and I find myself already saying things like, "I feel like I was just pregnant," and "I can't believe he's 2 weeks old already?" The fact that my days and nights all sort of gel together in one continuum is probably why I find it hard to comprehend how time has passed so quickly. Tanner's 2 week check up is tomorrow so we will find out how much weight he has gained back since his last visit at 3 days old. I'm guessing he's about 6 lbs., as his little arms and legs are starting to look less gangly and scrawny and the cheeks he already had are even more plump - hooray for breast milk!!
Some milestones for him in the last week are:
He smiles in his sleep, especially after eating, and of course just prior to the much anticipated poop!
He also giggles in his sleep which is precious and that I have yet to catch on film but I hope to!
He is always starving from 9-11pm, and about 4-6am so he and I catch up on our gossip/celebrity mags and Rachael Ray show
He peed on his umbilical cord twice (middle of the night half/asleep diaper changes make me a little less diligent with the blocking of the pee), which delayed its ability to dry and fall off, and I was so worried about it becoming infected. But it finally fell off on Saturday, so he had a full bath finally!
He is a grunter - very noisy grunting actually, and its his way of letting us know he is awake, needs his diaper changed, and will soon become very upset if I don't feed him! He really only cries the most with diaper changes.
And of course he has his days and nights mixed up so he sleeps A LOT during the day and is alert at night. This last week he goes longer periods of being awake with his eyes open, almost an hour one time!

Big T had another game this past Saturday, which was a far more enjoyable experience for all of us than the previous weekend. He was able to just play a game without the 2 hour preface of an opening ceremony, and was in far better mood because of it. He even made the biggest play of the game in the third inning, fielding a fast grounder from right field!
He continues to be such a loving and affectionate big brother to Tanner, giving him lots of kisses and cuddles, always asking to hold him, and he likes to say when Tanner cries, "Ohhh, the poor guy!"

As for me, I feel like I am getting as much rest as is possible having 2 little ones now. There have even been a few nights when Tanner has slept four hours, which feels like so much more when you are sleep deprived, and I wake from that four hours feeling incredibly refreshed and alert!! Funny how that works! My parents continue to be a huge support and even though Jason went back to work this week, they come by in the afternoon to take T for a few hours.

The weirdest thing for me right now is how much I am still having cravings, as though I'm still pregnant!? It's probably more related to my breastfeeding and burning so many calories, but I feel like I should still be pregnant with how much I'm craving sweets. Technically, my due date is this Friday March 26, so maybe my body still thinks it should be pregnant...Well that's the excuse I'm sticking with when I go have frozen yogurt for the fourth time this week!

A list of recent cravings: Red Velvet cupcake frozen yogurt is a new find! Brownies. French vanilla yogurt with granola and blueberries. Cupcakes. Jelly Bellies. Oh and still cereal!

Last Friday, Jason's parents brought over pizza from Angelo's and watched Planet Earth with T

Let's play ball!

(Picures all taken by Dave Warren)

Here come the Yankees
Talan is 4th from the end of the line

Getting in position...

Look at that form....

Base hit!

Daddy trying to get him out of his funk!

Tanner is officially 9 days old today! The last week has been a whirlwind to say the least - definitely not how I expected the week after giving birth to be! After Talan was born, I don't think I left the house for 3 weeks, until I had to suck it up and do some Christmas shopping! But with second baby's, everyone was right - there's no slowing down, we have to keep going when we have an older child. So the day after we came home from the hospital, it feels like it's been Go Go Go ever since. Jason was able to spend the first week home with us, which he was unable to do last time, and that has made a world of difference for me in terms of getting help and making sure Talan gets lots of needed attention. The two of them had a lot of Daddy and T time -going to Golfland, bowling, T-ball, and just spending quality time together!

Talan had swim class Wednesday morning and I didn't want to feel like I was missing any part of his special activities , so Jason and I took him together. Afterwards, of course neither Jason or I had eaten that morning and were starving so we went to Scramblz with Jason's mom for late breakfast. By this time Tanner was starving too so of course I had to nurse and try not to get my pancakes with drippy syrup all over the baby! Oh the joys of motherhood:) That night Jason's parents made us a delicious dinner and visited with T and T(or TNT as Jason has dubbed our boys!) then watched Planet Earth with us.

My parents have been over almost every day helping out with everything...I would be lost without my Mom and Dad let me tell you! My mom has been cooking up a storm for us, doing some grocery shopping, and helping me stay organized. My dad has been getting to some much needed home repairs at our place - he can fix and repair anything and always offers to do these things for us. Partly it's because I think he knows when I ask Jason to do them, they won't get done in any timely manner, and also mostly because I'm his daughter and he loves me! He's folded our laundry, mopped floors, done touch-up painting, fixed broken drawers, installed lighting....you name it, my Dad has it all under control! And I am more than thankful for all of his effort. My parents have taken Talan for a few hours on some days so I can take a nap, and when we have been over at their house, they can keep Talan occupied forever just so I can rest a bit. I couldn't have survived this first week without them! Love you M & D!

Saturday was Talan's Opening Ceremonies for T-Ball and his first official T-ball game. I had no idea it would be an all day event and was extremely fatigued and uncomfortable after the 4 hours of watching was over. But as I said before, I couldn't have missed this either as I would have had such motherly guilt if I had not gone. Words can not describe how unbelievably adorable my son looked in his "Yankees" uniform marching out on the field with his team and banner! He had a bit of a rough beginning to the game however, as he was a little annoyed that it took nearly 2 hours to get through the opening ceremonies before even getting to playing ball. And for a 4 year old, sitting still for 2 hours listening to adults talk really is a test of their patience! Add to that the fact that by the time they were ready to start playing it was 11:30 and he was ready for lunch, as he had woken up at 6:30 that day, he was not a happy child - Didn't want to warm up, didn't want to do drills - just pouted...it was classic Talan. The minute he got up to bat though, he was over it, and he had a great first game. He even caught a ground ball in the second inning, shouting as loud as he could "I got it!" and had the biggest grin on his face!

Sunday, I had it planned for a few months that I would take Talan to the opening day of Happy Hollow...and so I did, but man, if I would have known the pandemonium craziness that would have ensued, we probably would have waited. Jason was off hunting pheasant that day, so my sister, who had just returned from a week long business trip, was kind enough to come along with us, and thank goodness, because I never would have been able to navigate through the crowds without her! Tanner was a trooper just hanging out and sleeping in the sling. Afterwards Talan had his T-Ball team pictures that afternoon, but of course I had just barely washed his uniform(ie. WHITE baseball pants full of mud) that morning and still hadn't sewn on his league patch to his jersey so that was all done at the last minute, and we barely made it to pictures on time. His team was standing at the front of the line when we arrived-Phew is all I can say!

This week Jason is back to work, and I have been instructed by my parents to rest more. So they will be taking Talan for part of the days to get him out to enjoy the beautiful weather we have in store this week. And I am going to take it easy...or at least try!

4 days old

The four of us are delieriously navigating through these last 4 days, happily adjusting to life as a family of four! Tanner had a follow-up weight check appt Tuesday. He weighed 5 lb 9oz, and has mild jaundice-all which can be taken care of with Mommy's milk! His reflelexes are great and he was so strong, showing off to the pediatrician how he can lift his head on his own and look around. Tiny but mighty!
T is the most loving big brother and has adapted nicely so far to having a baby around. He always wants to help with diaper changes and is especially interetsted in picking out socks for Tanner! Any little sound the baby makes, T says, "Mommy there's something wrong with the baby, go fix it." And he always asks to hold the baby and knows exactly the right way to hold his head. Most surprising is that T offered to share his blanket wit the baby, and that is MAJOR! He is having a few acting out issues, nothing too unexepected or unruly but we are dealing with them and T is really doing his best as a hyperactive 4 year old! But the amount of love and affection he shows his baby brother melts my heart and I have such immense pride in my son.

I just wanted to post some pics of the beautiful flowers I received from my family. The first ones are from T and my parents, the second from Jason's parents, and the third from Jason's sister!

Tanner Chris Warren

On Saturday March 6 at 8:41pm, we welcomed our baby boy Tanner! At 36.6 weeks, he weighed 5 lbs. 14oz., and was 19 in. long, and is so tiny but strong and healthy. Our family of 4 is now adjusting to life at home and we are so full of love and feel such unbelievable support from our family and friends.

Birth Day.............
So as many of you may have known, last week I had decided at the last minute to take 2+ weeks of maternity leave, instead of working up until my due date of March 25/27. So my final day of work was scheduled for Monday, March 8. Well, I guess maternity leave just wasn't in the master plan for me!
It had felt like it hit me overnight and all last week I had really been feeling the major discomforts of pregnancy, as I had been lucky to have had so much energy and not a lot of aches and pains throughout. Friday, at the urging of my friend Kim we took our kids to Hidden Villa farm in Los Altos. I had planned to make sure in my last weeks that I got to take T on as many outings and fun activities as possible, and that day, although my discomfort was very apparent (what with the penguin waddling, shooting/numbing pains in my pelvis, and constant Braxton Hicks contractions) I was determined to have a fun day with T. He had a wonderful time wandering the farm of course, but I was so ready to get off my feet and rest. That afternoon, I had another prior obligation to oversee a dance class at my old dance studio so rest was out of the question that day. The Braxton-Hicks just kept coming throughout the night and I had so much difficulty (ie: PAIN) up and down from sitting or laying position. Saturday morning was packed with activities too in that my prental massage was in the morning then the afternoon was T's Little League Pasta Feed and Raffle so little rest was in the foreseable future.
Brief summary - Saturday morning I got up and my water broke. Kaiser Santa Teresa (a block away from our house!) was "overbooked" so they admitted me to Santa Clara Homestead. I took 3 hours to get ready before heading over - showered, did my hair and make-up, and made breakfast for T. It was very calm and relaxed.
Contractions had stopped so Pitocin started around 2pm. Contractions immediately got going, and lo and behold, back labor again! By 4 cm, decided back labor sucks (had it with T until 7-8cm) and asked for some Fentanyl, which just made me lightheaded, so immediately asked for the epidural after 7pm. Epidural worked for initial 6+ contractions, Mom and Katie walked over to Starbucks. Suddenly started having those urges to push, checked me, I was 8 cm. Kim called Mom and Kate - told them they better hurry back. Next contraction put me over the edge, checked me and I was complete. I was told I pushed for maybe 15 min. Epidural - made my left leg numb, but I felt all of the pain...apparently at some point it wore off.
I was incredibly lucky to have such an attentive nursing staff and resident who listened to my requests throughout my labor and delivery. And I was most lucky to have my Mom, close friends Kim and Krissy, and most of all my sister Katie(who flew in from Las Vegas at the last minute after only being there 15hrs) all in the room supporting me through this birth.


Here are T and I on Saturday morning-our last "just T and Mommy" picture

T meeting Tanner for the first time on Sunday morning

I really missed my big boy while he stayed with my parents

That is one proud Big Brother

T already multi-tasking...playing games and holding his brother

Tanner with his Bok Bok

T keeping busy in the hospital room after 5 hours there - Thanks to his Papa for finding ways to make it fun!

Getting ready to go home...

The blog I started the night before I went into labor....

With about 3 weeks left before we expect our new baby to arrive, I have decided to take the time for maternity leave. I had previously planned on just working up until I went into labor, but this last week I finally began to feel the fatigue and discomfort of the end of pregnancy, and made a last minute decision to stop working next week. I really have been so blessed and pleased at how great I have felt this pregnancy, in terms of the physical discomforts.

Up until this week, I had been sleeping really well, like a hibernating bear I've described it, drool and all! I hadn't experienced any major aches or pains up until now either - buy now I think the baby has officially dropped, and with that has come the constant sensation of pelvic pressure, some shooting nerve pain down the groin and legs, and the penguin waddle! Sleep the last few nights is disrupted by the need to flip from side to side every hour due to that tingling and numbness, and get up to pee each time in between. Add to it my 4 yr. old that has nightmares, the onset of a new cold (again!) and also has to get up to pee at night, sleep is a thing of the past! Sitting or standing for any extended period of time is just plain uncomfortable.

Now please don't misunderstand, I really don't want to seem like I'm complaining, just stating the facts...this is to be expected in my last weeks of pregnancy. It just has hit me so quickly and at the very end, which wasn't the case with my first pregnancy. I think I have avoided becoming really swollen, I can still wear my wedding rings, all of my shoes still fit!

But I just CAN'T GET COMFORTABLE