Abigail's First Month Stats

OK, maybe John and I have some kind of weird pride thing when it comes to our kids' height/weight/head circumference stats, but we've always gotten pretty happy when they've "scored" high. That being said...

Abigail had her 1-month check-up today and she weighs 9 lbs. 7.5 oz. (yes, that's right, that's a 19.5 oz. gain in 10 days...twice the average gain in that amount of time...and yes, I have some serious breastfeeding mama pride right now!). She's in the 75th percentile for weight...woohoo! She's now 22 inches long (90th percentile) and her head is 75th percentile (can't remember the actual number...oops). Her belly button is all healed up so she can have a tub bath now (I've been wanting to give her one so badly so I'm pretty excited about that). We'll go back in a month for another check-up, at which point she'll get her first round of immunizations...poor thing.

What Happened to Our Routine??

Yes, it's happened to us. Those of you who have been through having a second (or third or nth number) child knew this would happen. In some vague, obscure way, I did, too...I just wasn't prepared for what it would "mean."

Up until 4 weeks ago, life at the Ko house was pretty predictable. Nathan would get up around 7 and the rest of the day would unfold with the same sort of routine each day. By 8pm, Nathan was asleep and would greet us the following morning with his smiling, happy face. This even continued for a few days after Abigail came home from the hospital...and then everything abruptly changed!

Nathan began waking up at all hours of the night, needing John or I to go in and comfort him back to sleep for a few minutes. Then the earlier waking times started...6:30, 6:00, 5:00 or 5:30...each day seemed crueler than the previous. This past week has been particularly rough...four or five times a night, Nathan wakes up. He's woken up at 4:30 and then the mind-boggling 3am today! He's still only napped his normal 1.5-2 hours, so it's made for incredibly long days around here. One morning after an insanely early wake up, both kids were crying at the same time, I was trying to get dressed and brush my teeth, and John was leaving for work. Feeling completely overwhelmed, I brought both babies into our bedroom where I promptly bawled like a baby myself while John consoled me. Imagine how I'd be feeling if Abigail weren't such an easy baby?!? Sleeping 4 hours and then waking to eat...not too shabby for a 1-month-old!

Of course, after the babies and I slept for awhile, life looked a bit brighter, but this lack of routine, lack of any sort of predictability is taking its toll on me. I know it's to be expected when adding a second child to a family. I know that in time I will figure this out and life will return to some sort of routine, albeit a different, 2-child routine. I know that I just need to be patient. But I also want to scream, "I don't do well with change! I want my predictable systems back! Couldn't we just fast-forward through this tumultuous, learn-to-be-patient part??" In the midst of the craziness that is my life currently, I look at my babies and marvel that they are ours. Nathan is the sweetest boy...so caring and loving to others (especially Abigail!). And Abigail, though we don't know her personality fully yet, seems to be such a calm, easy-going person. Nathan's smile just lights up my day and Abigail has the cutest little noises that have just captured my heart. So, after all my complaining and kicking and screaming, I guess my life is really pretty great.

...and I know that those of you with more than 2 kids are chuckling and shaking your heads at me...it's okay...anyone with 2 or more kids is currently my hero!

She's Fine...

Abigail's doing great. She's at 8 lbs 8 oz today, 2 oz more than her birth weight. I admit to worrying a fair amount about this over the past 2 weeks, mainly because this is really my first baby to actually nurse. Nathan got breast milk in bottles so it was easy to see how much he was taking in...with Abigail, I've just had to believe she was getting full at each feeding. I knew she was getting some since she's so alert and content, but I just needed some data for reassurance. So I did a little dance at the doctor's office this morning when we went for a weight check, and I've been feeling better since. Now I can just enjoy feeding my daughter and stop worrying...she's doing fine!

Grandma Ko Comes to Visit

Mama Ko has been with us this week and has been thoroughly soaking in her grandchildren. She's cooked up a storm (yeah for us!) and has been keeping Nathan entertained and Abigail's "snuggle tank" full.

And Baby Makes 4

Yes, this post is late. I've been wanting to write for awhile but have been listening to my wise husband and have been trying to prioritize sleep over everything else. I'm still tired but that was a good decision...I'd really be a wreck otherwise!

Anyway, Abigail Katrina was born on August 5 at 3:33 p.m., the day before the full moon. I woke up extra early that morning, thanks to Nathan and his latest habit of waking up at 5 a.m. or earlier, and brought him into our bed for a few minutes of wake-up time before getting up for breakfast, etc. We were all laying there, groggy, and my water broke. We called the doctor who told us to come into the hospital, and then I proceeded to do what all pregnant women do...clean and organize like a madwoman! I "had" to fold and put away laundry, take a shower (and shave my legs of course!), make lists for gMa who would be caring for Nathan while we were in the hospital, pack Nathan's lunch (in case gMa didn't make it in time), etc., etc. , etc. Yes, I was crazed! At some point, John looked at me and said, "I'd rather you not do that right now...we need to go!" Always the voice of reason, that John Ko.

We got to the hospital in plenty of time, gMa met us there, and after about 5 hours, Abigail was born. Such a different baby than Nathan. She has such a soft cry, sleeps well and wakes up to eat, wants to (and can!) nurse, and just seems like a very easy-going soul. She has periods of being extremely alert and she just looks around and takes it all in. She sneezes a lot every day and usually has at least one sneeze that doesn't fully come out and she ends up making the most adorable "a-hoo!" sound. We're trying really hard to capture that on video...

We've been home for 2 weeks now, and John and I keep marveling at how life is so much different this time around. We were so stressed with Nathan, fighting like cats and dogs (love that sleep deprivation!), and life was just nerve-wracking. This time, we feel so calm, so well-rested (relatively speaking), and so at peace. We've gone out on several outings, and all of them have been really enjoyable.

Nathan is adjusting to big brotherhood fairly well. He was so glad to have his parents back (though he loved his days with gMa) and was pretty clingy the first few days home. We've tried to keep his routine fairly consistent (although he's had other ideas) and have been including him in Abigail's care as much as we can. He loves to touch her toes or hands, takes her dirty diapers to the diaper pail, brings her pacifier when she cries (unless he feels like stealing it!), and turns on the music in her papa-san chair. He's very gentle with her and we can tell already that he'll be a wonderful big brother.

John continues to be the most amazing husband ever...he takes one feeding so I can get a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep, he's been cooking/shopping/cleaning and the house looks incredible every day, he gets up with Nathan (who continues to be waking at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m.) and keeps him entertained and fed until I get up with the baby. He's been taking Nathan out to parks or on outings to keep the little guy busy. And poor John's not getting much more sleep than me!

We feel incredibly blessed with the newest addition to our family. These 2 weeks have flown by but they've been a really sweet time for us. I love Paid Family Leave that has allowed John to stay home for 3 weeks, but I love my family most of all. I was such a mess after Nathan was born but this time around, I feel like this is how having a baby is meant to be. Sure, I'm tired and sometimes can't remember if I've eaten or if I've brushed my teeth yet, but on the flip side, I have 2 beautiful children and a husband who are the most amazing gifts. I complain about being sleep deprived, but like someone said the other day, "You have the rest of your life to sleep...you only have your babies as babies for a very short time." I'm trying to soak in every minute for now.

Nathan's Newest Stats

Today was the boy's 15-month check-up and he got an A+, according to our beloved Dr. Kerr. He weighs 26 lbs 1 oz and is 32 inches long (both 75th percentile)...and shock of shocks, his head is 47 cm in circumference, a whopping 95th percentile still. Dr. Kerr was pleased to hear about all of his progress with walking, climbing, eating, and babbling. Nathan's nervous parents have nothing to be concerned about in terms of his language skills...his developing "jargon" is right on track and we can expect real words around 18 months, especially since boys tend to develop in this area a bit more slowly. Whew! He got 2 shots and screamed briefly but was quickly back to himself...we love how easy going he is. Back in another 3 months and hopefully I can schedule BOTH kiddos' appointments for the same day.

Oh my, the 2 kid thing is starting to sink in more and more....can't wait though!

Every Mother's Dream

I didn't have to wait as long as I thought! Ah, Mommy's (and Daddy's!) Little Helper! (yes, he did in fact vacuum up some actual dirt here and there...but practice makes perfect, right?)

Nathan's Newest Eating Position

Nathan's latest eating pose, much to my chagrin, is with one foot up on the tray of his high chair. We go around and around with me saying, "Put your foot down" and him putting his foot down slowly, only to give me that sly grin and put it back up again. Ah! I figure the less attention I give to this, the sooner he'll lose interest in it...

Another Try at the Pizza

The night of my 38-1/2 week appointment, we decided to give the labor-inducing pizza idea another try. There's a pizza place in Pleasanton with one of these gimmics, so we all went there to see if "Frank's Special" would do the trick. I'd been having cramps and some contractions throughout the day, so what the heck, right?

We've been to this pizza place a number of times before, but somehow I only noticed the street name on this visit...very appropriate!