Caleb Allen

Born at 2:14 am Friday April 10th.  He weighed 7 pounds 13 oz and was 20 inches long.  He came fast and loud!!! 

Thursday morning around 3 am I started having contractions 10-20 minutes apart.  They tell you not to go to the hospital unless they are under 7 minutes for over an hour.  By 6:00 they stopped and I was able to take a nap.  In the afternoon they started again, but only once an hour.  At 9:00 pm they were coming fast and intense.  At 10:00 pm I started tracking them and at 11:30 pm, they were painful and 4 minutes apart.  

I woke Dan and we had a crazy fast car ride to the hospital.  My contractions were so powerful, I though I would give birth in the car.  I was admitted at 12:30 am and sent to my room.  I had 4 big pushes and out popped baby!!!

At first we thought he didn't look like a Caleb or a Gabriel, and after discussing other names, we decided on Caleb.  

Jake was at home with my mother in law who graciously watched him for us.  I did not have to worry about him one bit.  My family was able to come and visit Caleb and keep me company when Dan wasn't there.

We left Saturday afternoon, after completing all the newborn tests, pictures and discharge papers.  We are now home and everyone is adjusting to our newest addition!

The emotions are winning

I had my little peanut on Friday( more on that later!) and I am so in love,

 but my emotions are all over the place.  I have so much guilt flooding me over Jake.  I feel like his world was rocked and he has no clue what's going on.  I know I will look back on this and laugh at myself, but I need to let it out.  

Jake and I are very close and we have an amazing bond.  I missed him so much while I was in the hospital, but had no worries or stresses because he handled everything perfectly.  Now that I am home and my attention is divided in half, I feel like I don't have the time for him.  He greeted his brother and is very gentle with him, but when Caleb cries, Jake becomes very concerned and is on the edge of tears himself.  I hope he doesn't feel neglected or as if we don't have time for him.  

I really hope these emotions go away quickly because I can't stop crying.  I am so thankful that Dan has all next week off to help and support me.  I will love you forever Jake, no one will ever replace you.

Puffy feet and swinging

My ankles and feet have finally swelled up.  

I felt it happen Sunday after sitting down and resting from all the Easter fun.  When I was pregnant with Jake my feet swelled up 2 months before he was due.  This time they puffed up a week before I'm due.  I am so thankful for that because it sucks.  The skin is so tight and socks and shoes make it 10 times worse. 

On a lighter note, my parents have been bugging us to put up the swing so Jake could use it.  We have put it off due to the crappy weather, but today was warm enough, so we hauled it out of the barn and set it up.  Jake absolutely love it. He was laughing and smiling and even got mad when it was time to go in.  This weekend we plan on hooking it up better, right now it's not too stable.

A Birthday/Easter celebration

Happy Easter! I hope your was spent exactly how you wanted to be.

Jake looking smart in his Easter outfit

Our Easter was pretty awesome.  We arrived at my parents around 11:30 and opened our baskets.  We got candy, toys, and some random stuff.  Overall I liked mine!

Jake got a couple of toys and baby 2 got some cute outfits

Ben and Allison arrived a little later and gave Jake and baby 2 a basket also.  It was so nice of them.  My favorite was a homemade book all about Jake.  We will have lots of fun reading it to him.  He also got toys, a shirt and bubbles.  Baby 2 got diapers, wipes, and 2 shirts!!

After baskets were opened and played with, we had a delicious dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans, rolls, jello, and apple or strawberry pie!   

After dinner we had my dad open his birthday presents.  He received wireless earbuds, salt and pepper shakers (he has a collection) movies, a tool box that Jake can use to help in the yard, and some sunglasses.

Everyone was getting antsy after dinner so we went outside for an egg hunt.  The weather was perfect, 60s and sunny.  Jake was totally oblivious to how an egg hunt works and refused to pick up his eggs.  So he and I walked around the yard while everyone looked for their eggs.

After the hunt we took off.  Jake was exhausted from walking around and the excitement of the day ( sometimes it's great to use him as an excuse :)). Here are some random pictures I took throughout the day.

Stop growing so quickly

My favorite little man is growing too fast. 

 It seems that every week I notice a change in him.  He's getting taller, his face is more mature, he's too clever, he understands directions like get your coat, he recognizes animals in books, he behaves like a toddler sitting on the couch watching tv, his clothes are getting snug, he knows how to turn the radio when he wants to listen to music. The list is endless.  

The biggest change is his clothes.  His dresser used to be overflowing with clothes.  I had 18 months, 24 months and a couple of 2T outfits, which he was swimming in.  When I dress him in the morning, I take note to see how the clothes are fitting, if they are too snug, I wash them and put them away in a storage bin.

  All the 18 month clothes are gone, and I have a small handful of 24 month left.  There is not enough 2T to get us through the week.

I do have a whole summer wardrobe in 24 months and 2T graciously given by my sister in law!

  But Michigan weather sucks and we still need long pants and sweatshirts.  I tried to find some winter clothes in 2T at several different stores, but all of their winter stuff is GONE!  If this weather doesn't turn soon, my child will be naked or freezing in summer clothes.....

Walking to get this baby out

Today was suppose to be in the upper 70s with rain.  Of course the 70s didn't happen, but the rain did.  That's Michigan for ya.  It was sunny early this morning, but by the time Jake went for nap it started raining.  Thankfully it didn't last for long and I was able to get us out of the house.  It was pretty wet out and didn't feel like chasing Jake through puddles, so we took a walk.  Walking is suppose to help start labor, let's see if it works!

We haven't been on a walk in a while because of all the pressure on my hips and pelvis.  It hurts so bad and I can barely make it through the grocery store.  Plus, I want Jake to get exercise and take long naps, and that doesn't happen if he's confined to the stroller.  

As we were getting our socks and shoes on, we were visited by our cat Carrots.  Jake gets so excited when he sees the cat!!

I tried to take pictures of Jake, but everytime I stopped the stroller, he got upset and started crying.  All the pictures are of him throwing a fit.  He did like the walk though.  He was sitting up and looking at everything.  Guess he liked the walk as much as I did.  Maybe I should take him more!

Suprise visit

Today is my dads birthday, so Jenny and I wanted to surprise him with lunch and desert.  Jenny picked up Jake and I and we went to a local grocery store and made him a fresh salad, then stopped by the bakery and bought him some coconut macaroons for desert.  

We took his lunch to his shop and ate with him. He seemed to enjoy his lunch, even though a salad is not a food I would like on my birthday (my parents are on a diet and are very limited to what they can eat).  He felt guilty for going off the diet and eating the macaroons, so he shared with Jake! 

We didn't spend much time visiting because I had a doctors appointment.  Jake fell asleep on the way so Jen dropped me off and drove around so he could sleep longer.  No change with baby.  No news to report.  

We came home and headed outside to play.  We finally had a beautiful day, sunny and upper 50s.  Notice the lack of coat!!!

We have a family celebration on Sunday for my dads birthday, but I hope enjoyed his suprise lunch!!