1 month old already!

Time flies. Holy cow! Andrew's already 1 month old today and the little stinker has changed quite a bit: he chunked up, despite his horrible spitting habits. Jacen was never spitty, and now to deal with a baby that spits up about half of his meal onto my clothes has been something to get adjusted to. He's very vocal, and we've nicknamed him "Lil' Goat". He makes these grunting noises that sound just like a goat, it's hilarious.

He eats really well, and at night we're down to every 4 hrs, which is quite lovely.

At first we were still having issues keeping Jacen in his bed the whole night, and Jacen was being more difficult than the baby: Jacen regressed with potty visits and he was (still sometimes is) having tons of accidents. When asked if he wanted to go back to diapers, he'd say "No, diapers are for babies!". So honestly, between the two boys, Jacen's the more difficult one for now.

BUT I do have to give him a lot of credit because he does love his baby brother. He loves to stick his binkie in his mouth if he's crying (which happens to be more like a "shove it in until you take it" type of help). He also goes and wipes his face if Andrew's puked on himself. It's very helpful.

I'm still getting used to the whole "having two kids" ordeal, and I feel like I'm constantly walking on egg shells, but I'm sure at one point it'll get better. I'll be returning to work next week and I'm thrilled- it's been 3 months since I worked last and I miss it.

I better go... time to feed- yet again.

Andrew's here!

Finally!!!! Andrew Julius Caswell was born on 12/31 at 9:00AM weighing 7lbs 12oz and measured 20.5in.

Basically, the way it went was that after I got my membranes stripped and walked and played basketball, then ate some spicy food for dinner, my water broke (slow leak) at 9:35pm on 12/30, and we headed to the hospital that evening. I "labored" all night- I played Sudoku all night while Elijah snored up a storm on the couch and my mom slept sitting up. Around 8am, Dr. Irion decided I had a high leak which was keeping me from progressing faster, so he came in and artificially broke my water again to get things going. My pitocin was turned up along with the AROM and because I was delivering naturally, the contractions got extremely intense and painful once I hit the transition stage. But with encouragement from the nurses and Dr. Irion, I delivered Andrew. My OB, Dr. Kaelberer, didn't make it in time because I transitioned way too fast for him to get there. However, he did come at the end to put me back together :) Delivering naturally was far beyond any kind of pain I've ever had, and even though I felt like I had been hit by lightning right after it was over, it definitely was worth it- I felt a lot better faster and I feel like my body is healing quicker compared to when I had Jacen with the epidural.

Andrew LOVED his bath. The kid hardly made a peep.

That would be me, of course. I'm surprised my hair was decent. By the time I went to sleep on New Year's Eve (I didn't even make it to 10:30pm), I had been awake for 38hrs. Hopefully next New Year's Eve I will be more alert.

Jacen met his brother around 11am the morning of the delivery. He first thought he was cute and wanted to look at him a lot, then eventually in the evening, he decided he wanted to hold his baby brother. He was so excited and kept giving him kisses, and waving his hand right in front of his face saying, "Hi baby Andrew!". It really was adorable!

First family picture :)

We noticed Andrew looks like the male version of me when I was born, but somehow when we took him home he looked just like Jacen as a newborn.

We sure love our little family and we're so grateful to be healthy and safe :) I hope everyone had a great New Year's!

Christmas 2010

 We had a lot of fun on Christmas. Jacen learned that Santa Claus is the one that brings presents, and that he eats cookies and Rudolph eats carrots when they stop by our house. He asked Santa Claus for a soccer ball when Santa made a pit stop at the Ward Christmas party, and Santa must've thought Jacen was a good boy last year because he got what he wanted!

I think Santa must've thought he was the nicest boy in town because he also brought Jacen a toy story table and chairs set. He loves coloring and eating his meals on it.

Needless to say, the child was very spoiled for Christmas. After all, it was his last Christmas as the only child and we wanted to make it extra special for him. He loved all his gifts!

Lots of stuff rolled into one post!

Wow, I haven't updated this blog in how long?! Since September things have gotten hairy over here, to say the least. Right now I'm on bedrest and will be until the end of the pregnancy (why can't I have a healthy pregnancy for once?!!?) and I'm almost done with school. Yay.

Since I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog, it seems nowadays, I'll just kinda post pictures of what I've taken since last time. I haven't taken any pictures until Thanksgiving, so this should be easy.
We went to Thanksgiving at Elijah's mom's house. I love her meals! 

And I've been promising pictures of our new crib to my parents now, so here they are...

I love this picture of Victor... it looks like I caught him in the bathroom in the middle of a big poop. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!

 

And this is me... pregnant with Andrew. I'm 33w3d. Good thing the picture is blurry :)

We're planning for an early delivery, so we may have a baby before Christmas. I'll definitely put some pictures up when that happens.

If today was your last day

This summer was pure chaos. Between finding out we were expecting, having my dad here for 2 weeks, seeing my mom move to Texas, and moving ourselves, volunteering with three different companies, then starting school two weeks later threw me for a spin. I felt like I didn't relax at all!

Now that school started I've been having a hard time getting used to the schedule, while taking care of a toddler and being pregnant. It's been tough. But in the spring, when I was struggling to make it, I always listened to this song by Nickelback- I listened to it especially before I walked into a lecture hall to take a test. It's very inspirational and I hope you find it as well. I know that all these struggles are temporary and are for the benefit of not just me, but my family as well. Don't pass up on great opportunities because you feel inadequate and that you think you can't do it because no one else has. You'd be surprised at how much you can accomplish if you set your mind to do it. I love uplifting songs with words of encouragement! I'll underline my favorite lines to the lyrics as well so you can read it.



My best friend gave me the best advice

He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?