Our new little man is a week old!

We've been waiting for months to find out who was growing in my belly. We read lots of books and talked a lot about our new addition so that Mimi would be excited about her new little brother or sister. I asked her the other day when she thought the baby would be born and she said "Friday". Then I asked her if she thought it would be a boy or a girl and she responded "Nate". Well she was 1 for 2!

As everybody knows we had our beautiful baby boy on Sunday, November 7. I had thought since the beginning that it would be that day, but I was still a bit surprised when my premonition came true. Mom and dad were able to come down and get settled on Saturday night since I was sure it would be soon. I'm glad they were there because of how fast everything went. Lauren had also stayed over that night and followed us to the hospital. I was very glad to have her and my wonderfully supportive husband there in the delivery room. Even though it was fast, it was intense!

Brian went and picked up Mimi later in the morning on Sunday so that she could meet her new little brother. She gave him a kiss before she kissed me after entering the room. She was definitely interested in him, but she was very distracted by the fact that we were in a new place and that my lunch tray had arrived. She shared my lunch as Nathan was held by everyone in the room!

 

We came home at about 3 pm on Monday afternoon (36 hours after Nate joined the world). He had a great car trip home!

 

 

He's not too crazy about diaper changes, but it's getting better. We had a bit of a night-time transition for the first few days, but he's slept well for the past 2 nights...letting me sleep for up to 5 hours at a time! Hopefully we can keep this streak going! He got his first sponge bath at home on Tuesday night and did very well. He spent the rest of the week getting cuddled by everyone. Dad came back on Thursday, and he and mom went home on Friday. We couldn't have gotten through the first couple of days at home without them! Mimi needed some extra attention, and we needed the extra hands. Mom cooked, cleaned, and did the laundry...stuff that wouldn't have gotten done otherwise.

Since mom and dad went home we've been spending some time getting on a new schedule as a family. We've been on walks with the giant tandem stroller, been to the pool, and played outside. Nathan had his first real bath on Saturday night since his cord fell off on Friday. He couldn't decide whether he liked it or not, but we got through regardless. He was happy as a clam after he got wrapped up in his towel and then even more content after he got his jammies on.

Now the next challenge...alone at home with two kids! Tomorrow is my first day alone with the kids. We're going to try to go to a friend's house and then perhaps to storytime on Tuesday. Grami will be coming down on Wednesday and staying through the weekend so we'll have some help again for a couple of days.

It's a boy!!

He's here!! Nathan James Fish was born on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 3:24 am. He weighed 7 lb. 5 oz. and was 20 inches long.

Here goes the birth story:

I was in labor all day on Saturday. The mild contractions began overnight from Friday into Saturday. I spent the whole day with mild contractions about 15 minutes apart. None of them were bad enough to stop me from what I was doing. After feeling kind of crappy all day I called the doctor, and she told me to go to hospital in the morning if they hadn't stopped by then or go in if they got stronger and closer together for 30 minutes. Sometime after midnight on Sunday morning the contractions started getting more intense and closer but were still very manageable. Once they started requiring my concentration I got up to use the bathroom and then woke Brian and told him it was time to go. It was a little after 2 am. We got ready and Brian and Lauren packed the car. By the time we left the house at about 2:45 am they were really intense. Thankfully the hospital is only 5 miles from the house and Brian drove quickly but safely (to avoid getting pulled over). I had about 5 contractions on the way there and 3 on the walk in. When the nurse met me in the hallway I looked at her and told her it wouldn't be long before we had a baby. They got me in the room and I quickly got changed. She checked me and told me that I was 9 cm dilated. I had to change positions so they could try to get a fetal heartrate and found a good position on my knees over the back of the bed. I stayed that way through another 5-8 contractions before I started feeling the urge to push. I told the nurse that I felt "pushy" and she politely asked me to try to wait so the doctor could deliver the baby instead of her. During this time my other nurse was attempting to place a hep lock in my arm and couldn't get it. The doctor arrived shortly afterward and asked me to roll to my side so that she could check me. She sat on the end of the bed and said that I was complete and bag of water was still intact. The nurse was still attempting to place the hep lock and I (not so politely) told her that she would have to wait. Dr. Allen broke my water and Nathan was crowning immediately. I don't think the doctor was expecting it because Lauren said she looked a little surprised to see his hair so quickly. I pushed (well my body pushed...I had no control over it) about a half a push and there he was! At this point the nurse abandoned the placement of the hep lock and just drew 2 vials of blood. I held him for a few minutes before they took him to be weighed and measured and get his footprints done. When they gave him back to me he nursed right away for about a half hour. I was admitted to L&D a little before 3 am and I was moved to the postpartum side at about 5:30 am...didn't want to overstay my welcome!

Trick-or-Treat

We have been getting ready for Halloween around here. Mimi painted her pumpkins the other day and put them out on the porch.

She was VERY into her work and didn't like being disturbed by the funny glasses I tried to get her to wear.

 
Halloween is finally here! Mimi has been practicing her "trick-or-treat" for a couple of weeks now! It has actually turned into "knocking...trick-or-treating."

We started the evening by going down to the annual Halloween parade. Mimi thought it was great! We took the wagon, and she spent a good deal of the time climbing in and out. We were all "Penn State Super-Fans" again this year with our little mascot...the Nittany Lion. I was the ball carrier!

She really liked all the high school marching bands that went by. (Sorry that the video is sideways...I had the camera turned and I can't figure out how to rotate the video.)

She very quickly got the idea of picking up the candy from the street and putting it in her bucket. By the end of the parade the bucket was full! We had to empty it before we could do any trick-or-treating!

LJ was very unhappy for the duration of the parade. He tried to not pay attention to it and kept his back to the action almost the whole time. He is shaking and pushing against Brian's leg in this picture. I think Halloween is his least favorite day of the year even though it involves a very long walk!

After the parade we walked and trick-or-treated all the way home. Mimi chose the houses where she wanted to stop. If we had stopped at every house we would have needed a wheelbarrow to bring all of her candy home!!

She got a little tired while we were walking so she took a break for milk and goldfish to "refeul"!

Mimi got a shower and put on her "spooky" jammies that Grami got for her after we got home. She was allowed to have one piece of candy with her milk before she brushed her teeth and then off to bed for our little goblin! Happy Halloween!!

October Fun!

Emilia's best friend Levi turned 2 on October 19th and we celebrated at their house with a costume party on Saturday. Everyone had such a great time! Mimi got some practice wearing her Nittany Lion costume and is ready for Halloween next Sunday.

On Sunday we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. Emilia picked out all of our pumpkins this year and helped daddy cut them off the vine. The first job was to pull the wagon down the hill to the pumpkins.

After a little way down the hill she decided that it would be better to ride instead of pull!

It was a little tricky walking through all the vines!

It was a no-brainer to have daddy pull her UP the hill...someone had to watch all the pumpkins!

After we did the tough job of picking out the pumpkins we all went on the hayride. Emilia had a great time looking for all the scarecrows hidden along the trail.

She LOVED going through the "spooky" part of the trail. There were all kinds of spookies hanging from the trees - ghosts, witches, and skeletons.

This guy had a sweet gig. He got to lay in the grass, sit up, and wave when the tractor drove by (about every 30 minutes or so).