One Month Old!

Happy one month to my littlest love!  Throughout Ty's first year, I wrote a blog post with updates about his life on his monthly birthdays, which I still love to go back and read to see how much he's changed.  Someday, when I have a bunch of free time (will that ever happen!?), I would like to print them for his baby book.  Now that I have a new little one to navigate the first year with again, I'm excited to document Brady's first year, like I did Ty's.

I'm already amazed at how much Brady has changed in his short four weeks of life.  He has gained nearly two pounds and grown a full inch in length.  Newborn-sized clothes lasted only a week, and I have already had to take out the 6 month pajamas, because his long legs are poking through the bottoms of his 3 month ones!  His little face has filled out and has taken on features nearly identical to his Daddy and big brother, Ty!  He is absolutely beautiful.

After a stressful first three weeks of life, I can honestly say that we now have a brand new child, who is happy, comfortable and thriving.  Despite my numerous efforts to eliminate foods from my diet while nursing him, and to treat Brady's silent reflux symptoms, he still spent much of his days squirming in discomfort, crying in pain, and having a very difficult time falling and staying asleep.  It was heartbreaking to watch, because nothing I tried worked.  Finally, I decided to try giving him formula instead; I had to know if it was breastmilk that he was reacting to, or something else entirely (there were several medical conditions that his doctor was considering testing him for, because we just couldn't pinpoint what was going on).  Literally, after just two bottles of soy formula, Brady transformed into a new baby.  For the first time in his little life, he was able to sit in my lap and just look around...no squirming, no crying, nothing.  It was truly amazing.  It was a really difficult decision for me to make, for many reasons.  Breastfeeding is pushed hard on new moms, but what they don't tell you is that sometimes it's not the best for every baby.  In our case, it wasn't.  I'm so grateful for our supportive pediatrician, who agreed that formula is the best choice for Brady, so I am able to feel confident in what I am feeding him.  And after finally having the chance to get to know my baby without the pain and discomfort, there's no looking back!     

On his three-week birthday, Brady started smiling in response to our smiles and voices.  He has the best smiles, and the cutest little voice that he uses to make noises when we talk to him.  He is just such a sweet baby.  When we hold him, he curls up in a tiny little ball against our chests, and will spend hours just snuggling if we let him!  I'm still amazed that we were blessed with not one, but two, of the sweetest boys we could have ever asked for!

He doesn't have many interests at his ripe old age of 1 month, but he has definitely taken a liking to the whoozit toy that Ty was obsessed with also!  We finally started doing tummy time in the last week, since he's been more comfortable, and he can already hold his head up a few inches off the ground for short periods of time.  He is such a big boy!

So that's our little Brady in a nutshell!  I have to say, being a mom to two little boys is pretty darn great! :)

Happy Fall!!!

 

 

Happy Fall!

 

 

Heading out to the orchards, outfitted in true New Hampshire style flannel!

So this is an apple...

A lesson on collecting apples from Daddy

This wagon concept is pretty cool...

Running off into the fields

As much involvement in the process as we can expect! :)

Picking all of the rotten apples off of the ground, and proudly putting them in the wagon!

First time he's ever put an apple to his mouth.  For my picky eater, this was totally camera-worthy!

Awesome afternoon with the family!

Life With Two...

Well, we're two weeks in to our new life with two boys.  It's been busy, (to say the least!), but I think we're doing okay with it! 

Brady, our little linebacker, is already growing by leaps and bounds.  In just one week, he gained a full pound, weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds 1 ounce, at not yet 2 weeks old!  (As a reference, Ty reached 10 pounds at 2 months old!)  He is most definitely a good eater!  We did have a bit of a rough start with the "little" guy, though, as far as his belly is concerned.  After several days of inconsolable crying and scrunching is body up in pain, I quickly discovered that he is very sensitive to certain foods in my diet, including certain vegetables and all dairy products.  We also suspected that he had silent reflux (milk comes back up, but he doesn't actually spit it up), which was adding to his discomfort, and started medication for reflux last week.  Between the dietary changes and the meds, I can tentatively say that he is more comfortable (I'm so afraid to jinx it at this point!).  For the past few days, he is finally comfortable enough to spend time playing on the floor, or sit and look around, rather than crying through much of his awake time.  It's been a lot of fun to get to know this side of him!

1 Week Old



2 Weeks Old

Aside from these initial challenges, Brady is such a sweetheart.  He has big blue eyes that open wide when he takes in his environment, and he gives the best smiles when he's drifting off to sleep.  His body curls up in a little ball when we hold him, and he'll happily stay there for hours if we let him!  Recently, he's started "kissing" my cheek to let me know he wants to eat, which is pretty much the sweetest thing ever! 

And Big Brother Ty...he's living up to his role, and seems to love having a baby in the house!  Every morning, he wears a huge smile when he sees Brady, and always comes over to pat his head and give him a kiss before doing anything else.  And I'm not sure you'd find a happier kid than when Ty gets to "hold" Brady all by himself!  Of course, he is 2, and needs frequent reminders to be gentle, despite his good intentions!  Yesterday, he grabbed the edge of the blanket that Brady was laying on and pulled it (baby in tow) a few feet across the floor, giving Brady his first sled ride (which I have to say, he kind of enjoyed! haha).  And today, after seeing a little spit up on Brady's mouth, Ty took it upon himself to wipe it off for him...Brady was not impressed!  It's a work in progress, but I'd say Ty's rolling with the punches, and enjoying the changes in the house!

 

Ty in the Moby wrap...he really loves to help! :-)

 

So that's our life in a nutshell right now!  It's hectic, and messy, and exhausting, but so worth it!  I've been one lucky Momma in the kid department! :-) 

Our New Adventure

On Friday, August 31st, the littlest Momnie made his debut - Brady Charles Momnie!  His arrival was long awaited (a week past his due date), but the wait was well worth it! 

Brady was born at 8:22am, tipping the scales at 9lbs 6 oz and 21 inches (yes, my little body produced a 9 1/2 pound baby!!!) - alert, healthy, and strong.  The labor and delivery were fairly quick and very calm.  Our delivery room had a long row of windows along the side, and there was a really nice pink sunrise as he was delivered.  It was the perfect way to welcome our little guy!

And man, is he beautiful!  He was born with a full head of jet-black hair, that's perfectly even in the front, and has a nice little "rat-tail" in the back...apparently he had lots of time to perfect his hair style in there!  His eyes are dark blue, and have the same shape as his Daddy's.  (The nurse in the hospital told me at least 5 times how beautiful Brady's eyes were, because they looked just like Eric's!)  In contrast to his black hair though, he has nearly blond eyebrows and eyelashes, so I'm excited to see what his final hair color becomes.  Some of my favorite features are the ones he shares with Ty...the button nose, the perfectly shaped lips, and the small little ears.  We can't get over how much alike our two boys looked when they were born!  I may be biased, but we make some pretty good-looking kids! :) 

He loved his first bath! :)

Proud Daddy meeting his second son!

I could snuggle like this all day!

An hour or so after Brady arrived, big brother Ty got to meet his new sibling, and we were officially a family of four!  Ty was very interested in the "baby", a word that he loves to sign, and was very excited to kiss him and "do nice" to his hair.  It was a sweet moment introducing them to eachother! 

First family photo!

After a 3-night extended hospital stay for jaundice (something all of my babies will likely experience to some degree, due to my blood type), Brady finally came home on Monday, September 3rd.  After getting an early-morning "okay" from the pediatrician to be discharged, Daddy and Ty came to pick us up at the hospital to start our new adventure at home.  I have to say, there's something a little surreal about just walking out of the hospital with one more person than you arrived with!  Brady sat quietly in the backseat all the way home, while Ty played him Elmo songs on his Elmo doll...so sweet!



Brady's phototherapy "electric bed" for jaundice
...the light comes up from underneath!  He had a nice blue glow!

Homecoming day! 

Overall, this first week at home has gone pretty well!  We're still trying to fall into a daily routine, but I think we'll be doing that for a while!  Ty has been great with all of the changes in his life, and his little face just lights up when he notices Brady in the room.  This morning I caught him sneaking into the living room where Brady was napping in his swing, look around to see if we were watching, walk over to the swing and gently pat Brady's legs.  It was a very sweet (albiet sneaky!) moment to watch.

Ty loves to snuggle with him...

...and gave him his first wet-willy!  And so it begins!

As for Brady, he seems to be adjusting well to life outside his cramped quarters!  He has been wonderful at night, generally only waking twice a night to eat, so I have had a chance to get some rest (though putting that in writing, chances are good I'm going to jinx it!).  Some days have been fussier than others, but I'm hopeful we'll find our balance eventually!

He loves the "whoozit" as much as Ty did!

He's a keeper!

We are so grateful for everyone's love and support in welcoming our new little guy!  All of your calls, texts, emails, cards, and visits have been much appreciated!  We look forward to introducing him to all of you!

As you may have noticed, the title of our blog has been changed to "The Adventures of Ty and Brady"...I can only imagine the mischief the two will create in the years to come! :)  Stay tuned!