America turns 232 years old today, but Mister Charley is just 2 weeks! We donned the kids in some patriotic attire and tried to get a decent shot of the two of them together — no such luck. So separate shots it is. Since it’s dreary and rainy here today, we’ve just been hanging out inside this afternoon, but we’re heading to our neighbors house for a cookout tonight. Have a happy and safe 4th of July, everyone!
Charley’s “belly button” fell off last night — I didn’t discover it until I woke up in the morning, got out of bed, and saw it nestled in our sheets. Lovely, I know. But thus, we were finally able to give our greasy monkey his first tub bath. After a minute of getting accustomed, he quite liked it, and drifted in and out of sleep. And we discovered his hair is curly when wet, then turns fluffy when dry. He might just end up with curly hair like his big sis.
Charley practices Tai Chi after a most-enjoyed sponge bath — he perfected his moves in utero.
I just can’t seem to adhere to doctor’s orders and stay horizontal and inactive with a newborn and a toddler, so today we took the kids strawberry picking at Boston Hill Farm in North Andover. Not only do they have pick-your-own fruits and vegetables … they have animals, a play area, a farm stand, and best of all, Richardson’s ice cream. Yah, Flora’s teeth are probably gonna fall out this summer, but we couldn’t say no to Richardson’s.
Flora spent her Monday afternoon off from school playing in the yard with Marty. They had fun squirting each other with the hose, tending to their gardens, and making mud in a bowl. Charley hung out with me inside donning his first boy outfit courtesy of “Uncle Gweg and Melnie.” Thanks, guys!
… Matt Hull, who guessed that Amy and I would have a 9 pound, 2 ounce boy on 6/22/08 (just 1 pound, 1 ounce and two days off). Truth be told, we thought he was crazy guessing such a big baby and 7 days past the due date! We’ll be contacting Matt to claim his prize, but don’t hold your breath, Matt. Karen Leonard, the winner of Flora’s pool, has still not been contacted. Hmmm, must be one of those sweepstake scams.
Finally, I posed for a picture with my new little bro, and Dad was able to snap it. Baby Boo-be has soft hair that tickles my cheek, and although he cries too much for my liking, it sure is fun to help Mom and Dad change his diaper, give him a sponge bath, and play with his clothes, blankies, and binkies.
This morning I got the best treat of all — my long, lost pal Asa and his parents, Ethan and Julia, stopped by for a visit on their way back from Cape Cod. I told Mom, “Asa is cute!” and when she asked me if he was my boyfriend, I said, “yes.” But alas, these long distant relationships sure are tough to keep going!
With no encouragement on my end (we all know I mostly wear black!), Flora has taken a liking to all things pink — pink clothes, pink food, pink in the environment. When we stopped for a special ice cream treat today, Flora bypassed her usual vanilla/chocolate twist with chocolate sprinkles for the flavor “pink” — black raspberry. As you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Today Charley turned one week old — geesh, where has the time gone? So far, Mister C proves to be a pretty good baby. Aside from being a good eater, he’s a pretty good sleeper, although his need to eat usually interferes with my desire to sleep for any length of time. Almost from the get-go, Charley could lift his head and push the upper half of his body off my chest. And now that he is spending longer stretches awake, he can track objects and sounds with his eyes and turns of his head. He’s definitely smiled drifting off to sleep, waking back up, and fully awake (I think I spotted a dimple). And he’s even reached out to bat at a toy. I imagine since he is such a big guy, and since he has a big sister to keep up with, he’ll be mastering all sorts of things early.
We’re trying our best to keep Flora’s and the family routine in tact despite the ups and downs of a newborn, so we went to dinner last night at Three Amigos after we picked Flora up at school. She loved the Jarritos “special drink,” and told the waiter, “I liked the chicken … I want some more.” Charley just slept in his car seat. Here is Flora’s photo of the table, and we’ve added a link to the right-hand sidebar called Photos By Flora to showcase her new talent. We’ll be adding to it as she experiments, so keep checking periodically.
By the way, I don’t think Flora is going to be much smaller than Charley — when figuring out her estimated height based on her two-year-old measurements, it looks like she’ll be 5 foot 9 inches tall! Now we just have to wait another 16 or so years to see if that comes to fruition.
This afternoon, we gave Charley his first sponge bath at home. I can’t say he liked it, not even a little bit. But he sure seemed to like the clean, refreshing feeling afterward. Once we dried and coiffed his hair, I noticed that he has some blond highlights near his scalp. Hmmm. And the jury is still out on his eye color — right now they are a blue-gray but not cloudy, and seem to have that dark ring around the iris like his Dad. But he definitely has my piggy nose, like my father, and my grandmother (in rocking chair). And there is no question that I look like my grandmother.
Speaking of family (on my father’s side), my Great Grandmother (who they called Flora) had a brother named Charles. My Grandmother (who they called Flossie)’s father’s name was Charles. My Father’s name was Charles, and both my brother, Gregory Sr., and his son, Gregory Jr., have the middle name Charles. My Grandmother used to tell tale of weighing 14 pounds at birth, and when all was said and done, she measured only 4 foot 11 and 3/4 inches! So Charley didn’t just get his name from the Swan side, he may have also gotten his heft from them, too!
Charley had his first doctor’s visit with Dr. G this morning. He hated getting naked, weighed, measured, and examined. In fact, he pretty much hates getting messed with, and that certainly includes diaper changes. But for the most part, as long as he is well-fed (and I do mean *well,* my poor boobs), he’s content to hang out, be held, and look around. So it came as no surprise to learn that after just 5 days, Charley has surpassed his birth weight, when most babies take 2 weeks to just get back up to theirs. Today “The Fridge” weighed in at a whopping 10.5 pounds, measured 21″ long (no, he didn’t shrink — the nurse said she just can’t stretch the babies out as well as they do in the hospital), and managed to add .25″ to his head circumference, bringing it to 14.75″. So, how does he rank? Off the chart completely for weight (over 100th percentile), and over 90th percentile for both height and head. Yah, he’s a big ‘un. Dr. G. said we don’t even have to bring him back in two weeks, since he is thriving and perfectly well, so we won’t be back to see her until he turns 1 month old.
Although we don’t expect Charley to be as fashionable as his big sis, he’s certainly going to have some style, especially if he wants to live up to his namesake who had a matching hanky for each of his 100 ties! Charley and I were very happy to be headed for home, even if he did have to put on this outfit, when all he wanted to do was nap.
Mister C. smiling at his Dad. He seems to like to be swaddled, although he manages to break out his arms and legs all the time.
After three nights of “sleepovers,” I brought Flora back to Melrose. We visited the hospital on Sunday around 3:30 pm but not before Flora put on her dragon rain boots, donned a Mardi Gras bead necklace, and insisted on pushing her play stroller with Rusty the dog. She wanted to make a grand entrance.
Flora got to walk with her mother down the ward’s corridor and show off her boots to all of the nurses. She snacked on gelatin, ice cream, and juice from the snack area and got to see a few babies through the nursery window. Leaving mom behind though brought on a massive meltdown in which she chanted “Mom-mee” all the way down the hall, into the elevator, to the car, and all the way home.
Flora and I spent the entire day together today while Amy was with Charley at the hospital. (They come home tomorrow morning.) I declared it a “whatever-Flora-wants-Monday” as a treat to help her transition to the new family dynamics. So there were plenty of popsicles, she got to stay in her jammies all day, watch multiple “Super Why!” episodes, read Curious George books in bed, color with markers, paint with watercolors, and — her favorite — do “art projects.” Flora discovered how to squirt glue, so she coated the paper and pressed down stuff to her heart’s content. Oh, and she got to sit on the potty while watching TV. What more could a kid want?
Sunday was only Charley’s second full day in the world, but he’s already showing us what he likes and dislikes. First and foremost he loves to be held. He’ll sleep soundly in your arms for hours. He’s also a champion eater. Nursing sessions last about 30 minutes and he’ll sometimes cluster them together before sleeping for a couple of hours. You’ll notice that it’s rare to see him with his eyes open in the pictures. He’s starting to have more periods of wakefulness but most of the time he’s content to daydream or sleep with his eyes closed. Finally, he hates to get his diaper changed or be put down anywhere it’s not warm. They have to use the warming table for him in the nursery to keep him content.
Yesterday, he took a pacifier for the first time. He had spit it out on prior attempts, but got the hang of it today. We also traded in the hospital standard issue knit cap for a more stylish orange skull cap. I filed Charley’s long nails to prevent scratching (of him and us) but promised not to tell his friends he got a manicure lest they make fun of him.
Dr. Chen from the Pediatric Health Care Associates checked up on him both Saturday and Sunday. Charley lost 12 ounces, going from 10 lbs. 3 oz. to 9 lbs. 7 oz. but it’s not unusual to lose some weight post birth. Otherwise Dr. Chen said Charley’s strong and healthy.
While we were at the hospital, our friends Dawn and Mark who live just down the road in Wakefield, watched Flora for us. They have a two-year-old boy named Henry. We sold the nights away to Flora as a sleepover with Henry and an opportunity to play with a lot of different toys. This morning though, Amy and I were both anxious to see Flora and have her come to the hospital to meet her little brother. On the short drive over, I let her know that she was a big sister because the baby in Mommy’s belly was out now. She took it all in stride.
Flora was affectionate and curious from the moment we entered the room at the hospital. She said, “Mommy I love you so much” and pointed out the “boo-boos” where the IV was attached to Amy’s arm. She sat up on the bed with Amy while Charley was on Amy’s chest. Flora leaned around to see his face and said “you got a baby Mommy?” We said his name’s Charley, but Flora says “No, his name’s Baby Boo-be.” (Flora’s logical extension of our nicknames she coined: Mommy Moo-me, Daddy Doo-de, and Flora Fu-fe.)
Flora had to inspect all of Charley’s pacifiers — the two new ones we brought, which were still in the bag, and the hospital binky in his bassinet. She needed the bulb suction and nursing pillow too, so she could tend to her stuffed dog Rusty. Flora spontaneously gave Charley kisses and rubbed his head. She liked putting his knit cap on her feet too. But when we tried to get pictures of the two together and Charley started crying, Flora put her foot down. It was much more fun to run around the room and hide behind the privacy curtains.
Amy delivered via emergency C-section this morning at 9:42 am eastern time. The baby wasn’t making progress so it became clear he needed an alternate route. When he finally did arrive, Charley Martin weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 21.5″ long. He’s had a meal already and is off to the nursery.
Amy remarked that Charley takes after her father (his namesake) and her grandmother. His big cheeks, up-turned nose, and wide face are trademarks of the Swan side. Though he hasn’t opened his eyes much, we think they are already brown.
“It’s getting too far along,” said Dr. Wu when she entered the exam room, “Do you want to be induced?” “Yes, please!” I said. And so it shall be. I am heading to the hospital today at 3PM to start the process with Cervadil (I am still just 2 cm dilated so it will help with that), and then progress with Pitossin tomorrow morning … this baby might just have a June 20th birthday! Keep updated by signing up for the RSS feed or viewing posts in the right hand column over there.
… What’s one more day? My non-stress test (it monitors fetal heart rate and fluxation plus any contractions) and my ultrasound (today it measured the fluid and checked the baby’s movements and breathing) were fine and dandy, so I figured I could wait one more day and discuss my options with Dr. Wu at my weekly appointment tomorrow morning. I don’t plan to hold out any longer (I’m convinced this baby will never come out on its own!), and if Dr. Wu agrees, we will schedule the induction then. Stay tuned …
Although Groundhog Day isn’t officially until February 2, every morning I wake up still pregnant I feel like I’m in Bill Murray’s movie version. With all the initial labor signs and ultrasounds pointing to an early arrival … and with the doctor surmising the baby would come early … and since second babies are usually not late … the now prolonged waiting is killing me! At my next set of appointments on Wednesday I am going to ask Dr. Wu to schedule the induction. By the way, only two folks are still in the baby predictions running (the 17th and the 22nd) — I think the contest is going to be a bust.
While Amy went to her appointments, Flora and I took our Candy Castle loot and visited the playground at the Roosevelt School where Flora will most likely attend. She was excited to tell Amy that there was an alligator there, and when Amy asked her if it was a real one, she said, “Nooo, it’s plastic.” Some of Flora’s funny expressions these days are: “He’s/She’s not cooperating;” “I love you so much” (and adds “but not you, Mommy” when she wants a reaction); and “My Mommy’s/Daddy’s so bad, she/he … (finish the sentence with something silly, like “She hit my teacher”).” She spins some real yarns and has quite an imagination! And her vocabulary is amazing — the other morning she said “This is called an ottoman or a table” when pointing to our living room cube. It’s hilarious to hear a 2.5 year old use words like cooperating and ottoman.
The best joint in our neighborhood is an old-fashioned candy store called Candy Castle. They sell “penny” candy, fudge, chocolate, novelties, slush, and more. The candy bins are lined up along the wall and Flora just can’t help reaching in and sampling each kind, wrapper and all. Amy is equally as happy about her favorite cafe moving into the neighborhood — it opens tomorrow and she can hardly wait — delicious coffee, pastries, breads, sandwiches, and salads within walking distance from the house!
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