Banana Cake

I had three black bananas that needed to get used up, so I decided to let the kids make banana cake and use their hands to smash them...

Reagan did exactly what I told her to - she is smashing them until the lumps are all gone. Grant is eating them - and against my better judgement, I am letting him.

"New" Toys

It's nearly the end of winter, and we are still trying to come up with new things to do and play with... Here are some pictures:

Easter Eggs... fun to play with, fun to sit on, not so fun to pick up.
This is a bad picture, but Grant is dressed up like Miss Hannigan (minus the camo sweatshirt, of course). Thankfully, he still loves cars more than he loves pink dress-up shoes and necklaces...
Reagan playing "Mommy".

The computer. Grant gets to do so many things at his age that I never considered letting Reagan do. (The most memorable was when I gave him his own baby ice cream cone in the car.)

However, there are some things I decided would not be a good idea to introduce to Grant... the computer and markers. I used to spend lots of time teaching Reagan to use the computer, but until yesterday, Grant was denied. He was very excited to be treated like a big kid. :)
Riley -- three weeks old. She's not really a new toy - well, maybe sort of - but I didn't want to leave her out.

Wow...

"Wow... you've sure got your hands full!"

"Wow... you sure have a cart full!"

I was warned long before Riley arrived that once you take three kids to a store, you will get noticed. And maybe not in a good way.

I did, and it happened.

After receiving the comments quoted above, I was checked out and leaving (carrying Grant and pushing Riley and a cart full of stuff). I overheard one check-out clerk say to another:

"That reminds me of my daughter. She has three little kids too, but I don't think she takes them to the store like that..."

I guess my questions about this daughter are obvious...

Randomness

Every time I tried to post something this last week, Blogger wasn't working. So now what follows are a bunch of pictures and stuff that I've been waiting to post and are just random... :)

Making "Valentine's" cookies last weekend -- and in the process I discovered that we don't own a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Reagan was disappointed, but we convinced her that stars and 'people' were adequate for Valentines as long as they had pink frosting. And as you can see, there was plenty of frosting...

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Greg came to visit and to meet Riley. Aunt Sandy always gets her nieces and nephews a Tigger when they're born and Riley was no exception. Riley liked it, but Grant loved it :)

Why Riley does not lack entertainment...

Riley -- 2 weeks old:

Two-Week Check-Up

It seems all I have to write about these days are my kids. We rarely leave the house, and when we do, it is in a rushed, 3-hour time window between feedings... I know it is just for a season, so I am not discouraged, but I apologize if you are getting bored :)

Riley's two-week check-up was today (2 days early) and she weighed 9' 4.5oz (She weighed 9' 4oz yesterday at her other weight check.) She is otherwise very healthy, but will go back on Friday morning for what is *hopefully* her last weight check. And really -- it has been hard for me to get too concerned about Riley's weight when she has already outgrown newborn size clothes and the size N diapers are way too small.

Having the debacle with Grant and Reagan fresh in my mind, I was thankful to only have to take Riley with me (thank you, Sadie!). Alas, not many good stories coming from the clinic today...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Reagan is toatally into Valentine's Day and she is super excited to be wearing "the most cutest, prettiest, pink pants and Valentine's shirt"! I think Riley looks adorable in her Valentine's outfit (even while she is crying :) and Grant got roped into the picture at the last minute (he is reaching for the candy-bribe I'm holding up). He is decidedly not the Valentine's type, and I have a feeling that some day he will thank me for not dressing him like the girls in this picture.

Rub a Dub Dub...

...too many people in the bathroom.

Giving Riley her first bath turned into a family affair. Reagan is still smitten with her sister and although Grant is not, he can't stand it that Reagan would be doing something that he wasn't. Mom needs a picture, and suddenly the bathroom has 5 people in it... :)

First the good news: Linda came to stay Thursday and Friday - and just in time, I think... Being over-tired and filled with inexplicable hormones made (and still are making) me prone to weepiness. Two great suppers, two naps and a longer night of sleep last night have helped greatly -- Linda (and Dave), I'm thankful beyond words! (And now I'm going to start crying again :)

The bad news is that Riley failed her weight check on Thursday. She was 9'15oz at birth, 9'5oz when she left the hospital, and 9'1oz at her weight check. She'll go back on Monday to be re-checked and I'm trying to feed her as much as possible between now and then... :)

When the nurse asked me why I thought Riley wasn't eating as much at home, I told her I thought she was (among several other things) distracted when she ate. Ever try to nurse a baby who just got hit in the face by an over-zealous brother, while you have a three-year-old climbing onto your back and asking incessantly about what the baby is doing? It isn't easy, let me tell you... :)

Helpers

I don't think there is a baby out there that has more attentive siblings than what Riley does... Reagan is crazy about her baby sister - last night she finally got to hold her and then feed her for the first time. When it came time for Reagan to go to bed, she begged me to "say goodnight to my baby sister - just one more time". How can you say no to that??

Reagan ran out of her room this morning when she woke up. The first thing she wanted to know was where her sister was and if she could hold her and feed her. It was so sweet -- and yet so... ...early.

Holding my "Baby Sister" for the first time:
All three together - finally :)
Feeding Riley for the first time:
Don't be fooled - Grant was not interested in the baby. We got hom to sit 'still' on the couch by letting him watch Baby Einstein.

Reagan -- held Riley several times today and every time she would talk to her: "Oh, Baby Riley, you're so cute! I'm your big sister. What are you doing? Want your pacifier?" Doting is how Reagan says "I love you".

Grant -- I'm not sure if he was following Reagan's lead or if he just doesn't like crying. By mid-morning, he had caught on that Reagan was getting praised for bringing 'baby things' to Riley, so maybe he thought he should give it a try. For his efforts, Riley was poked in the face several times, hit in the head by a container of wipes, had her leg smashed down (when he tipped and fell on her while she was in the bouncy seat), and had a pacifier pushed into her eye. A ball thrown at your head is how Grant says "I love you".

Reagan and Riley again today:

Home Sweet Home

We're home! We got home around lunchtime and Joel's parents brought Reagan and Grant home to us around 6 o'clock. I cried because (I have crazy hormones) finally my whole family is together again :)

Heere are my latest favorite pics... They are soon to be replaced by the adorable pics of Reagan and Grant meeting their new baby sister for the first time :)

Monday Update

The pediatrician came to check on Riley late this morning. The news was all good and we'll probably be able to go home tomorrow (I had been really hoping it would be today). Riley has been able to hold her blood sugars without the IV drip, so they are reducing the number of times they have to test her. Her poor little feet have been poked so many times, that this is a big releif to me.

Riley is now 4 days old, which is the peak of jaundice. She is quite jaundice right now, and hopefully that will resolve itself without needing the lights. That would obviously delay her release. If she eats well today, and her jaundice numbers stay down, hopefully we'll be headed home tomorrow afternoon... *cross your fingers*

Sunday Update

On Sunday morning the pediatrician turned down Riley's dextrose IV drip by another third. Her goal was to have Riley off of the IV and have it disconnected by last night (if Riley cooperated and started eating more). Riley did cooperate and the IV was removed at 8pm last night. (Hooray!!)

When asked when we might be able to go home, the pediatrician thought the earliest would be Monday night and the lastest might be Friday. I keep hoping it will be tonight... :) We haven't seen her yet this morning and hope that we'll get good news soon.

Meanwhile, we've been holding Riley and cuddling her as much as we can. We let her sleep on us as often as possible because I don't think we'll have as many chances to cuddle once we get home... :)

On Sunday morning, Joel's sister Emily, came for a visit. She drove two hours and left Daddy in charge at home. You can read about his adventure here. :) Jason, you make me laugh!

Lastly, hospitals seem to provide great blog material... There are lots of entries I planned on doing, but have been interrupted or haven't had time.
Here are the short versions of those entries:
--> I Heart Epidurals

--> Be Careful What You Wish For: Resort turned Prison

--> Deja Vu - Reagan or Riley?









--> What Eating 2 Ounces Can Do:

--> The View:

Still at the Hospital

An update on Riley to those we haven't talked to otherwise...

Let me start by saying first that Riley is doing well, and I am trying to keep that in perspective while I am disappointed that she can't go home.

Riley continues to be connected to a dextrose IV drip. This morning the pediatrician turned it down by a third and that seems to have helped her be 'hungrier' when it is time to eat. She still doesn't eat much, but I am hoping that tomorrow will go better and that they will turn the IV rate down again in the morning.

Riley has also been breathing rapidly. The nurse was concerned enough in the night last night to call the pediatrician and order blood work and an x-ray. They were concerned that she was showing signs of pneumonia or another type of infection. Both tests came back negative, and now they are hoping that her rapid breathing is just something that will resolve itself as she adjusts to 'life outside'. If it doesn't seem better in the next day or so, the doctor may put her on an antibiotic just to be careful.

I have officially been discharged from the hospital and am free to come and go as I please. No midnight blood pressure checks, intrusive questions, or nurses worrying about a blood sugar value over 200. MGMC provides moms like me a "guest room" (the same room we have been staying in). I am allowed to stay here free of charge and be close to Riley, I just don't have a dedicated nurse and I have to pay for my own meals.

As frustrated as I am about being unable to take Riley home, I am equally thankful that nothing serious is wrong with her. We'll be able to go home within a couple of days and while I am (extremely) impatient to get her out of here, I am trying to spend as much time cuddling her as I can because I know when we get home, it won't be so quiet :)

Sisters

Reagan - age 1 day
Riley - age 1 day

She's here!

Not much went according to "my plan" yesterday, but she's here anyway!

Riley Ann Bartlett
9lbs 15 oz. (just one ounce shy of the 10lb credit!)
20 inches
Born at 8:41pm
She looks a lot like Reagan did with dark curly hair and a 'scruncy' looking face :)

She had low blood sugar and they gave her some formula to treat it last night. That wasn't quite enough, so she spent the night in "Intermediate Care" with an IV and hopefully she'll be allowed out and back into our room sometime today.

Here's some pictures of her right after she was born. (We don't have any others yet because we've only been allowed to hold her down in the nursery.) Many more to come. :)

'Twas the Night Before...

First, on Monday, my friend Lisa and her little boy came over for supper. He is 6 months old, so cute, and so active! We got out both the exer-saucer and the jumper for him to sit in and Grant had to try out both of them. Grant is way too huge for the jumper and I'm glad the trim is still hanging above the door.

Tonight is our last night as a family of 4! As I type, Joel is going 'list-crazy'. I think he inherited this list-thing from his mom (hi, Linda!). He'll even add things to the list(s) just to cross them off. I'm not like this, and I think it is somewhat amusing to watch... He spent most of last night with a pen and his list making us both brainstorm anything that we could possibly need to do, bring, or pack.

This is Reagan practicing giving her baby sister a bottle. She is so excited for the next couple of days... a whole day at Sadie's, two days at Grandma & Grandpa's with Charlie and Bailey, getting a new baby sister... she must have told me 10 times today how excited she is.
This is Grant - he has no idea what is about to happen tomorrow...

Super(bowl) Sunday

We didn't have any plans for the weekend so we've been able to relax, grocery shop, and get everything ready for our new arrival next week.

The kids have had a great weekend with Dad :) He took them to the store yesterday, and played outside with them today. Joel even dug a trench so that Reagan could swing. :)
Grant LOVES to be outside. He was nearly frozen and it was way past his naptime -- even so, he went into a meltdown - begging to go back outside.









For the Superbowl we started our food celebration at lunchtime :) Joel has been patiently waiting to deep-fry boneless chicken wings that we made last year for the Superbowl. Then for supper, the kids got to watch the game and eat hotdogs & chips :) (Chips are what happens when Daddy goes grocery shopping :) At first Reagan said she would cheer for the Steelers, then she decided that she wanted "both teams to win". She's me in a 3-year-old body.

Lastly, we filled our "baby girl's" dresser and got her room cleaned out. Reagan wanted to help and every time she pulled another outfit out of the bin, she would say the same thing: "Aaawwww -- cuuuuute! Look, mom!" And she was right -- they were all really cute. I had forgotten how cute these little clothes really are :)