what? already?

every mom has these moments.  three weeks with this dreamy little guy have already passed and he'll be applying to college before i know it.  sniffle, sniffle.  despite the chaos, i'm trying to breathe in little tidbits of my day. like stella's chiclet teeth or the way her pudgy fingers work the "tags" on her snuggy blankets.  and how she furiously unloads drawers before i can even think of a distraction.  noelle suggested recording her laugh.  it is a heavenly sound.  it comes easily and heartily, as if it is simply in her nature to be blissful.  newborn moments are different.  anton is a grunty baby, who loves to be held, and drinks ravenously as if making up for lost time.  he feels so TINY to me now but i have a feeling he'll surpass stella on the charts. 

All Hands On Deck

 We're dealing with a lot of bottles, diapers, and making sure Stella doesn't suffocate Anton (with love).

Feeding two babies and hand washing the dishes takes up a 1/4 of our days. I don't think that's an exaggeration. Luckily Stella is down to 3 bottles a day and the little guy should be nursing soon.

 

Stellie is bursting at the seams with brotherly love. So bursting in fact that she tries to climb into the bouncy seat and pack n' play with him. She wants to play with Anton's face, stroke his head, and hold his hands.

It's adorable.

Ready Or Not...

I'm ready.

 Jason is ready.

 

Anton is mostly ready (working on the sucking).

 

The nursery is close to ready.  We'll get pictures hung this week.

 

We'll find out if Stella is ready soon enough.  

Even if she isn't ready, Anton's home and we are thrilled.  

 

downdate

on sunday jason came up to bed complaining of stomach pain.  i heaved a heavy sigh because three weeks ago similar pains sent him to the ER in the middle of the night*.  that's right, the emergency room.  that's right, i'm talking about jason (not myself). 

reluctant to sit in another ER for 4 hours, he gave himself a few minutes to see if it would pass.  luckily we are currently at my parents' house, living with a very good doctor.  angelique sent us to the emergency room.  and...

 

jason has gallstones.  he handled the pain pretty well but it looked terrible (email me for details).  he still isn't back on his feet.  anyone know a good NYC gallbladder surgeon?  we want that nasty thing out before it strikes again.

*the sigh was also me feeling the need for some self preservation (aka being selfish).

**a downdate is like an update but with really downer type news.

ONE-derful Stella

a ONE-derful year with a ONE-derful kid,
who is growing and changing and barely fits in her crib!
she's grown her own teeth. learned to crawl and is walking.
before we know it stella will be talking. 
join to celebrate 12 months of ONE-derful stella,
before we welcome a new little fella. 

I desperately wanted to celebrate Stella's 1st birthday before her brother arrived.  The least we could do.  I commissioned Noelle to write a poem for the invitation.  By commissioned, I mean asked nicely.  We drafted up a classy evite.  I scoured the internet and found several easy ideas to copy.  Family came to town.  Basic decorations were planned.  We highlighted a few favorites on the Patsy's menu and over-bought presents (guilt will do that to you).  And then Anton showed up. 

So on the night of my discharge we threw together a little celebration.  My mother made the most glorious cakes.  Jason's mother cleaned our apartment and wrapped gifts.  Jason got balloons.  I showed up.  We ate Patsy's and unwrapped presents.  Stella was in heaven.  That's what counts at a birthday party, right?

Watch your inboxes next March.  Next year I'm going all out on the birthday celebration(s).  Complete with theme. 

We love you, Stellie!

This Is Unofficial

I swore to myself that my next "official" blog post would be about Stella's 1st birthday.  Check the title.  Until Anton gets home, Stella still believes this is her world.  Actually her world has improved since Anton joined the family.  She is soaking up grandparent love, time with daddy, and both of us home during the day.  Stellie has been joyful.  Might as well let her enjoy for the next week or so.

So here are some unofficial pictures of our darling little Anton.  It is his 1-week birthday after all.

 He's been waking up more and more each day.

 On the not so good feedings, he starts looking like this after just 10 mL (milliliters!).  That's around 1/3 of an ounce.

 Fine fall asleep while you eat, we love you anyway.

We finally got him in clothes.  He got a rash and was out of the outfit (whether it was the culprit or not) before I took any pictures.  Blast!  In the first week of Stella's life, we had approximately 1000 pictures.  We still don't even have one family picture.  Turns out life in the NICU is a different beast.

Surprise

I generally don't care for surprises. I prefer to be prepared and in control. That has NOT been our life recently. Look who's here.

 

Maybe he heard the c-section talk and decided to show up the week before his scheduled eviction. Maybe he was sick of his sister sitting on him like a park bench. Maybe he knew GG and Grandpa Reed were on their way. Maybe he thought why be almost Irish twins when you can actually BE an Irish twin. Maybe he didn't care that I haven't completed the nursery. 

Delivery was fast and furious.  I kept repeating to myself, "This isn't so bad, people say to labor as long as possible at home."  I thought that meant for days not HOURS. 

As soon as Jason saw our little guy, he knew his name. In honor of our maternal grandfathers...  

Anton* Thomas Gardner

Unfortunately Anton's little systems aren't quite ready for our earthly air.  His home is a NICU incubator until he can breathe without wheezing and keep food down. We pray that's soon. 


And for the record, once again we have the biggest baby in nursery*.

*As in Stanton, minus the "st." 

*Most of Anton's NICU neighbors are <5lbs.