Life over the past two weeks has been sweet and fun and tiring and chaotic and everything in between! I have so many pictures that I don't even know how to break them out into separate posts, so I'm just going to dump them all in one. Hopefully I can do a decent job of summing up how life with two kids has been.
As you know, Thomas arrived on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening and all day Monday were full of lots of visitors, so we stayed busy and were still functioning on adrenaline. We finally got to go home on Tuesday, but not until after a long morning in the hospital that seemed to drag on. Thomas got held up in the nursery for a good portion of the morning waiting on the pediatrician. We got so antsy that we eventually walked to the nursery and tried to bust him outta there ourselves. Turns out, you can't really do that. You only get to view your baby through the window. Sad.
After what seemed like an eternity, he was finally brought back to our room with his discharge papers. We were ready to blow that popsicle stand! The only question left was, Is the world ready for these chubby cheeks?
Once at home, Matt helped me and Thomas get settled in and then left to fill prescriptions and pick up the big sister. Thomas took his first nap in the Nap Nanny and I took this picture that reminded me of a similar one I took of Katie Wynn on her first day at home.
We survived our first night and if I remember correctly, it was very similar to our first night at home with Katie Wynn. Lots of tears. We definitely missed the hospital nursery! We were up bright and early because we had newborn pictures scheduled for Wednesday. Yes, they were crazy early and that day I definitely thought I was insane, but I was so glad to have them done and out of the way! They were at 11:00 in the morning and we needed every minute before that to get out the door in time. Katie Wynn was a big help, though, with Thomas's morning feeding.
The whole photoshoot was an interesting experience. This was the first time I'd ever done "studio" pictures so I didn't know what to expect. It was the neatest room with all kinds of different backdrops. I thought we would take a family picture or two so Matt, Katie Wynn, and I were all ready for pictures too. Mom came with us too to help tend to Katie Wynn, so we had quite the crowd.
We had to get Thomas good and asleep before we could get started which was a little easier said than done. I think this was the most awake he'd been since birth, but Matt finally got him to sleep...even while holding big sister too!
The photographer had music playing and the room was lit with white Christmas lights. It was a nice soothing environment for Thomas and even made the rest of us all a little sleepy. They provided us with comfy chairs while the photographer worked her magic with our sweet baby boy.
Katie Wynn uncharacteristically fell asleep in my lap while we watched. I chalked it up to it being her regular nap time, but in hindsight I should've realized that she was coming down with something...
After being there for about 3 hours, we finally packed up and headed home. We never got a family shot and Katie Wynn wouldn't really cooperate in her picture with Thomas. Thank goodness we bought the First Year Package so we'll have another chance to try in a couple months. I'm so eager to see the pictures she did get!
By that evening, Katie Wynn was running a fever. It didn't seem to effect her mood, though! We gave her some tylenol and just assumed she was overtired.
The next morning, Katie Wynn woke up early and was burning hot!! Her temperature was around 102 so I called the doctor's office right at 8:00. Miraculously, they'd had an 8:30 cancellation and said we could have it. We've never gotten in the doctor that quickly! Matt loaded her up and took her to the doctor while I stayed with Thomas. I was hoping for an ear infection since that can be treated quickly, but both ears were fine (one had to be flushed, though, which I hear my baby girl did NOT like at all). She passed her strep test too so that wasn't it. The doctor said it could either be a bladder infection (a urine sample was needed to prove this) or roseola. They tried to get a urine sample in the office but Katie Wynn wouldn't eat or drink anything so she wouldn't use the bathroom. Matt brought her home with all the tools needed for me to try to get a sample from her to take to the hospital later in the afternoon. It didn't work at all!! Both bags that we attached to her fell off so we couldn't collect any urine. But her fever was gone so I wasn't too stressed about it.
While they were at the doctor, Mom and I gave Thomas his first bath. As expected, he wasn't impressed.
Even when it was over and I was getting him dressed, he kept giving me these "I hate you" looks. I hope one day he actually enjoys bath time! This picture of him in his Nap Nanny is one of my favorites to date. :)
When Katie Wynn got home from the doctor, we had a Sonic drink waiting for her to hopefully get her to drink. I finally broke down and played the Let It Go video from the Frozen movie for her (I have tried to so hard to keep this movie out of our house, but I recently heard that they listened to the soundtrack at daycare and that she loved this song). I thought it would cheer her up and it did; she was glued to it!
The doctor had told Matt that we didn't necessarily need to keep Katie Wynn away from Thomas, but to try not to let her touch him. Easier said than done! That day seemed to be the day she wanted to touch and kiss him the most! She settled for sitting next to him and watching him sleep.
Going through my pictures, I can tell we were operating in Survival Mode on Thursday through Saturday because my picture taking drastically slowed down!
Even though Katie Wynn was fever-free on Thursday evening, she woke up with a high temperature again on Friday. Mom came over early that morning so that Matt could go to work and she could help me with the kids.
Thomas's first doctor's checkup was scheduled for that afternoon at 3:00, so I just told myself if I could keep her fever under control until then, maybe her doctor could look at her too while we were there for his appointment (she saw a different doctor on Thursday). While I hated that she was sick and having to take medicine, it was nice that she was taking really long naps for me!
Our doctor mostly echoed the same thing the other doctor had. She was back to using the bathroom regularly and it didn't seem to be hurting her, so we kinda ruled out the bladder infection. We were told to keep pushing ibuprofen and hopefully the rash from roseola would eventually show up. They had a Saturday morning clinic we could go to if it got worse.
As for Thomas, he had a great checkup! Everything looked good...except for his jaundice. Our doctor was slightly concerned with it and wanted us to have it checked to make sure we didn't need to do light treatments. Our local hospital where we would've had the test done was closed that day due to a fire, so we made plans to go to the ER at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital the next morning. Not really what I wanted to do with my newborn!
Friday night was fine; fever was back down. Saturday morning she was on fire again. So frustrating! We decided to split up - this time Matt loaded up Thomas to take him to get his jaundice checked (it came back fine, hallelujah!) while I stayed with our sick little girl. I got her dressed in case I needed to take her to the Saturday clinic, but ultimately decided against it. I gave her more ibuprofen and she was curled up in my bed and sound asleep again before 9:00 and slept until past noon!
Saturday was low-key as we just tried to keep Katie Wynn's fever down and keep her eating and drinking. We were THRILLED when she woke up fever-free Sunday morning!! We were obviously glad that she felt good and were also glad that we didn't have to cancel our plans for the Cooks to come over for breakfast. We hung around house all day and Katie Wynn loved doting on her brother. Here she is enjoying tummy time with him. :)
Sunday is when Katie Wynn finally got brave enough to hold her little brother. And then once he was in her lap, she couldn't stop kissing on him!
It was while we were outside on the patio that I looked down and spotted a rash on Katie Wynn's back and got so excited!! I know that sounds strange for a mama to say, but the rash meant that A) it really was roseola that had been causing her fevers and B) it was finally over! The doctor had told us that once the rash appeared it would be the end of it and that it would just go away on it's own. I couldn't even see it by the next morning. So glad to be done with that ordeal!
Week two with two kids was much calmer, thankfully. Katie Wynn was able to return to daycare which kept her on her normal schedule and definitely made the days easier for me. We did bust her one afternoon trying to pick Thomas up from his bouncy seat by herself. We are going to have to keep a close eye on her!
My parents have both been a huge help with the kids when Matt's not around. I had one night where he was going to be late getting home and my mom had somewhere to be so I was going to be left alone during dinner and bath time (most stressful part of the day!). My dad was nice enough to come over and help so I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown. I seriously don't know how I'd survive without my parents being so close!
This girl has gotten to where she kisses Thomas anytime he's close enough for her to reach. It's so sweet to see her love him (although we have to say "be gentle" a LOT!).
Friday of this week started with Donuts with Dad at daycare and ended with popsicles on the patio after dinner.
Saturday we had a fun day just hanging around the house and playing. Anna was with us for the weekend and she is always such a huge help with Katie Wynn. She loves to play with her but also helps with diaper changes and meals and bath time!
We started Saturday off with some donut holes...
...and then we spent the WHOLE morning outside. Matt and I worked in the yard while the girls played in the driveway. We filled up Katie Wynn's little pool so they could "swim" and we didn't bother putting a swimsuit on KW. With all the toys in the driveway and a toddler running around in her diaper, we were all kinds of redneck. :)
Oh, and Thomas? He supervised the yard work from the shade.
After lunch and afternoon naps, we all walked down to the neighborhood park to do some sliding.
Back at home, there was more playtime on the floor together.
By nighttime, Matt had discovered that the air conditioning unit that cools our bedroom (and Katie Wynn's) was out. We knew it was warm in our room but figured it was from me having the blinds open all day and the sun coming in. But after having the blinds closed for several hours and the temp not dropping any, we knew something was wrong. It wasn't too hot for us to sleep in Saturday night, but by Sunday evening it was a sauna and we had to sleep upstairs. (It has since been fixed, thank goodness!)
Speaking of Sunday - Katie Wynn played on the floor with Thomas while I got ready for church. Yes, we made it to church! We had three kids in tow and weren't even late!
I totally dropped the ball on Father's Day this year. I let Matt get up early with Katie Wynn while I slept in, then I let him cook me breakfast, and then after church I let him buy us pizza for lunch! I did at least give him a card and small gift...
After church on Father's Day.
Katie Wynn cooked dinner for us Sunday night. Fried goldfish for everyone! Well, actually she and Lolli are the only ones who ate them.
She was at it again Sunday night, but this time she cooked our meal on the grill. Who doesn't love ketchup on their fried chicken? :)
Finally, I'll leave you with two pictures of my pretty boy. Who says boys can't wear bows? I think he wears them well. :)
So we have officially survived two weeks with two kids under two! Parts of it have been easy and fun and just like I hoped it would be while other parts have been tough and exhausting (mostly the no-sleeping parts). We are starting to get into a good routine so I hope things will only continue to get easier from here on out!