Merry Christmas!

It's officially Christmas Eve here at the Rooney house and I'm constantly being struck by how different this year is than last. For example, last year, I was insanely miserable with morning sickness and this year, I've got two healthy, beautiful kids (both of whom are napping right now, which makes things even better!). Jack had his RSV shots this morning and we had a wonderful visit from our neighbor, Sandy, who brought presents over for the kids. Meredith fell asleep with one of Jack's presents, but she told me "he happy to share with me, Mommy!" I love watching them together. Jack's eyes light up when Meredith comes near and Mere always has to know where her "baby brother" is. When I picked them both up from daycare the other day, I heard her tell him in the backseat, "Baby Jack, I so happy to see you. I miss you so much today!" Not to be outdone, Jack has been babbling up a storm lately. I was talking to Meredith this morning and he kept talking louder and louder to get my attention. Once I turned and looked at him, he stopped and smiled as if to say, "Now that I have your attention..."

Between our two jobs, we've heard more than our fair share of sad stories this Christmas. This season definitely makes me thankful for all of the blessings in my life and thankful for the baby born so long ago on that very first Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Six Month Checkup

Jack had his six month checkup today and did great! He weighed in at 22 lbs, 6 oz (99th percentile) and was 28.5 inches long (97th percentile). His head circumference was 88th percentile, which was a jump. Since his head grew so fast, our doctor sent us downstairs for a quick ultrasound. Thankfully, everything was fine. He had shots today and will get two more on Friday for RSV. That works out to five shots in three days :( I just keep telling myself it's better than leaving him vulnerable to all of those nasty illnesses, but I still hate making his thighs into pin cushions.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Can you believe Christmas is less than two weeks away? We were supposed to head to Grammy's today to bake cookies, but we've been officially snowed in. Meredith told me this morning that she wanted to "stay home in her warm cozy house" instead of going outside to play. We had a pretty good scare with Jack last week. He came down with a bad case of the stomach flu and had to spend a few hours in the ER at Children's to get IV fluids and medication so he could stop throwing up. After almost a week of puke, diarrhea and poor feedings, he's back to feeling great. Yesterday was the first day back at daycare for both kids in over a week--they've been home with Mommy and Papa. My dad was here for five straight days. He's such a life saver!

We had breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning. Jack people watched for a while and then fell asleep. Meredith was thrilled to make ornaments for our Christmas tree, but wasn't too happy to talk to Santa. He came by our table and she told me that she wanted him to go sit on his seat so she could watch him, but didn't want to talk to him. Sadly, this is an improvement! Maybe by the time she's 5, we'll convince her to actually sit on Santa's lap.

We're off to the pediatrician a week from today for shots--wish Jack luck!

Let it Snow!

It amazes me every time I log on to this blog how long it's been since I've updated it! Life really does get in the way sometimes :) I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is right around the corner. We have a new resident at our house. His name is Christopher Popinkins and he's an elf straight from the North Pole. We've decided we need a Christmas elf for every season because knowing that someone is reporting back to Santa has kept a certain little girl on her best behavior! It's amazing the places where he can hide. Chris is having way more fun with him than Meredith is!

Jack has been on solid food for about a month now and loves everything but peaches! So far, he's had bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, carrots and green beans. He loves solids so much that we try not to put our hands near his mouth during mealtime for fear of losing a finger! His weight at last check was 22 lbs, 4 oz. He and Mere are officially now wearing the same size diapers.

Here are a couple of pics from the last month:

Picture from our greyhound tea party. According to our hostess, Mia likes lemon in her tea, while Philly prefers honey. They drew the line when Meredith got out her dress up clothes.

Before bed a few nights ago--the second one is my favorite. Meredith climbed up next to Jack and said, "Mommy, you take my picture with Baby Jack. We say 'Cheeeeese!'" In reality, Mere said "Cheeeese!". Jack is saying, "Oh crap. Don't let her sit on me again!"

Birthday pictures and more!

Here are a few pictures from Meredith's birthday weekend. We're hoping to have trick or treat pictures tonight, but since Meredith refuses to even look at her costume, I'm not holding my breath. At least Jack seems excited to dress up! She definitely has the lingo down. Last night, we were saying our prayers before bed. When I asked her what we say to start our prayers, she announced, "Fold our hands, close our eyes. Trick or treat!"


Meredith test driving bikes at Toys R Us with Mimi and Papa

"Meredith, want to jump on Aunt Kathy's trampoline?"

"Meredith, it's time to get off Aunt Kathy's trampoline." How does she already know how to give dirty looks?!?

Jack watching everyone patiently as we got ready for Meredith's party at our house

We had a visit to the pediatrician last week. Both kids are healthy and growing like crazy (thank goodness!). Jack weighed in at 19 lbs, 15 oz (99th percentile) and was 26 inches long (81st percentile). Meredith was 28 lbs (67th percentile) and 35 inches tall (79th percentile). Doing shots for both kids at the same time was pretty traumatic, but thankfully we shouldn't have to do that again any time soon.

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday!

Meredith turned two last week--can't believe how fast time flies! We had a party at our house on Sunday. It was a huge success. Mere really milked the whole birthday thing. For three days, all we heard was "It's my birthday!". Usually, it was because she wanted to do something that she's normally not allowed to do and she realized being the birthday girl got her some special privileges. I realized after the party that all of my pictures are on Mimi's camera, so I'll post some soon.

We learned this morning that we have another October birthday in our family. Aunt Erin and Uncle Mike welcomed Dylan Michael this morning. Erin had a C-section scheduled for Monday, but Dylan just couldn't wait! He's beautiful and healthy and we couldn't be happier for them!

We're headed to the pediatrician on Tuesday, so wish us luck! It'll be the first time both kids have had check-ups and shots on the same day. Yikes!

Another month of firsts

I can't believe another month has passed! We've had some big happenings around the Rooney house, as you can imagine. Last Monday marked the end of my maternity leave and Jack's first day at daycare. He did great, especially with some help from his big sister. When I dropped the kids off that morning, Meredith was really upset because she thought Baby Jack was going to stay at daycare forever. Once she realized that he got to come home when she did, she felt much better. Apparently, after her nap, she started to worry again, so her wonderful teachers took her next door to see Jack and to explain that I would be there soon to take them both home. Meredith apparently tried to pick Jack up out of his bouncy seat and announced to the class, "Baby Jack, Mernith go home." (she calls herself Mernith). Not sure if she was planning to steal a car or hail a cab, but she was going home and taking her brother with her whether I was there or not! I did pretty well on my first day back at work. I only cried once and was thankfully busy enough that the day flew by. Chris met us at the end of the driveway when we got home and helped me get everyone inside. He also bought me the most beautiful red roses ever to celebrate surviving my first day away from the kids. What a great husband!

Our other big first of the month happened last night. We've been talking for a month about how it's time to move Jack out of our room and over to his crib. For one reason or another, we keep putting it off. First, it was because he had a cold. Next, it was because I wanted to get through my first week back. Last night, it was because he'd slept a lot and we knew he'd be up at night. When Jack woke up at 3am, we went through our normal change-feed-rock routine, to no avail. He decided he didn't want to be held. I was so tired that I put him in his crib and sat in the rocking chair. When I woke up an hour later, he was happily sleeping in his crib, so I went back to bed and listened to the monitor for another hour! I'm happy to report that Jack lasted over 4 hours in his own bed last night, so we removed the bassinet from our room this morning. I felt a little snubbed. He was so anxious to be rid of us that he transitioned himself out of our room! He's been sleeping much better lately--as long as 6-7 hours at a time. Can't wait until that becomes more consistent! The Jackapotamus, as he's affectionately known, now weighs almost 19 lbs according to our scale at home. That's what Mere weighed at 9 months!

Meredith has been a busy girl, as usual. Mimi and Papa presented Mere with her second birthday present a little early. We went to Toys R Us on Tuesday and picked out her very first tricycle. The bike is a huge hit. The helmet that she's required to wear...not so much. She's very into Dora the Explorer lately, so I thought a Dora helmet would be a winner. She hates her helmet because it messes up her hair and apparently cramps her style. It's going to be a long process to convince her that I really mean "No helmet, no bike". She's also taken to calling us Chris and Erin, then laughing hysterically. The other day, I yelled out through the garage to Chris and she stood next to my legs and yelled "Chris babe! Daddy babe!" until he answered. She told him "Hi Chris!" when he came home from work last week, then laughed about it for the next five minutes. She recently learned to count to five in Spanish (thank you, Dora!) and to eleven in English. We're trying to move ahead with counting, but so far she tells us that 14 is the number that comes after 11.

Here are a few pictures from the last month:

Jack and Philly hanging out in the playroom

I love this precious little face!!!

Grandma Rooney bought Meredith these little foam people about a month ago. She calls them her family. Mere's "Famy" is never far from her side. She puts them in her purse and takes them everywhere. They include Mommy, Daddy, Meredith, Baby Jack and Justin (our neighbor from across the street--the family included a brother, a sister and a baby, so she named the brother after Justin). She decided one day that she wanted to build a house for her family to live in. She did these almost completely by herself.

Mere and Jack in the playroom one morning before breakfast

Mere was giving Jack every rattle she could find so he could play with them

Jack is an outdoor man. When he's fussy, a trip in the Bjorn with Daddy to take a walk outside magically fixes whatever is bothering him. Our neighbors crack up when they see Chris, Jack and the dogs out for their nightly walks.

Jack during his first tea party. He was not a fan. Philly was a much better sport.

What a happy kid!

Just your typical Tuesday

A few of my favorite pictures from this week:

Jack in the tub--isn't he precious? He loves to take a bath. He never cries and just looks around and coos.

Meredith loves Philly and Philly loves Meredith (she calls him "Bubba" because she couldn't say "Philly" at first. "Bubba" was the third word she spoke, right behind "Mommy" and "Daddy"). He sleeps in her room every night.

Shot through the thigh and Mom's to blame...

I've had Bon Jovi playing in my head all morning! Jack had his first day of big shots and he was a champ. He definitely did better than I did! The pediatrician was very happy with how he's developing and growing. Jack weighed in at 14 lbs, 6.5 oz (92nd percentile!!!) and 23 inches long (49th percentile). It cracks me up that my preemie baby is now a giant! The good news is that Jack is growing and thriving. The bad news is that I ordered his Halloween costume today and I'm pretty sure the six month size is going to be too small! Jack is dressing up as a banana and Meredith is going to be a monkey (or maybe Jack will be a monkey, since he'll likely be Meredith's size in another two months!). All in all, it was a successful appointment. Now, we're hanging out at home enjoying a nap and some Tylenol. I can't believe my Mondays with Jack are coming to an end and I'll be back to work four weeks from today! Not so happy to leave my babies.

In other Jack news, he went 5.5 hours between feedings last night--a personal record! Unfortunately, it was from 8:30pm until 2am, so the sleep benefits for us weren't as great as they sound. Our bassinet has a weight limit of 15 lbs, so it looks like Jack will be transitioning to the crib in his room (unless I can convince Chris to dismantle it and move it to our room, which seems unlikely). Mere slept with us until 5 months, so this is something I'm definitely not ready for. I guess it beats the alternative of the bassinet breaking under him. Maybe I'll just move our bed to the nursery. Think Chris will notice?

Meredith is becoming even more of a little mother. Last week, Chris was giving the kids their baths and Jack was crying in his bed. Mere found a blanket and a binky and threw them into his crib. She couldn't reach him, but she knew one of those things would probably make him happy. She had to look through our room and his to find both items--what a good big sister! Papa taught her the difference this weekend between things that are the same and things that are similar. She's been comparing items all weekend and definitely knows what she's talking about.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Summer

We've had a busy summer ever since Baby Jack made his early arrival. When Chris was on vacation a few weeks ago, we took a trip to the Akron Zoo. It was a hit! Meredith liked the monkeys the best, but also told us all about the "buggie" she saw--a black ant crawling on the ground near one of the exhibits. Jack did really well at the zoo too and slept the whole time in the stroller. Last weekend, we went to the fire station to visit my dad. Mere keeps telling us all about Papa and his "big trucks". Here are a few pics:



Jack snoozing in the car seat

Mere posing on her favorite turtle

Meredith and Daddy posing with the llamas

Meredith, Jack and Papa at the fire station

One month checkup

Jack had his one month checkup on Monday. It went great! The biggest surprise was his weight--Jack went from 7 lbs, 9 oz at two weeks to 9 lbs, 14 oz at one month. That translates to a jump from 16th to 45th percentile! He was 22 inches long, so he grew over an inch in those two weeks too. No wonder he eats so often! Meredith had a pretty high fever again over the weekend, so we took her to the doctor on Monday too (thank God for my dad--I could never have taken both of them by myself!). Mere has a pretty nasty viral infection and has had a fever for the last five days. She's starting to feel a little better today, so I'm praying she's on the mend. She finally had a good lunch and is acting more like herself. This is our first day home with just the kids and me, so it's been an interesting one. We actually made it to Target and back in one piece and had fun! I'm just praying that naptime lasts a long time today so we can all get some rest.

Newborns sure are messy!

A few nights ago, I had my first real experience with Jack peeing on me. He actually hit the book shelf two feet above his changing table. It was impressive! Last night, he went to the next level with bodily fluids. Picture this...2am, I'm half awake and in the nursery to change Jack before feeding him. I had his diaper off and heard a few rumbles, which I caught with the diaper. As I turned around to grab something off the changing table, he let loose with a huge stream of squirty, yucky poop. It covered his blanket, the changing table, the wipes container and the basket that holds all of his lotions, diaper cream, etc. The basket is a good two feet away from where his butt was. Needless to say, that woke me up! I didn't know what to do. Should I wake Chris up and have him help me clean? Do I laugh and figure it out later? All I can say is thank goodness for bleach wipes and a patient baby. Chris got a good laugh at my expense when he woke up this morning!


Not to be outdone, Meredith decided to do color commentary this morning. I was changing Jack before yet another feeding when he started crying. Of course, breast milk started spraying everywhere. Meredith looked at me and said, "Mommy leaking, Mommy leaking". It must've been a memorable experience for her, because she's sharing it with everyone.

I was looking through some old pictures of Meredith and came across a few of her at Jack's age. I can't believe how much these two look alike!

Three weeks

Meredith meeting Jack for the first time in the NICU. She was telling us all to be quiet because he was taking a nap.

The next few are some pictures from playing in the back yard last weekend:

We've officially survived the first three weeks of being a family of four. Besides some sleep deprivation and a really yucky cold for Meredith (fever of 104.4 on Friday--so scary!), I think we're no worse for the wear! Jack had his two week appointment with the pediatrician and did great. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and was almost 21 inches long. We go back on the 19th for his one month check up and a shot. Meredith had a slow weekend with her cold, but is back to her happy self today. Chris and I have decided that we're done with health scares from our kids. Having a really high fever in a toddler plus a premature baby in the NICU all within a three week period has been enough to fray our nerves!

Jack's Latest Stats

We had our NICU follow-up visit today. Jack now weighs 6 lbs, 15 oz and is 20.5 inches long. This works out to a 10 oz and 1.5 inch gain in the week since he's been home. No wonder he's been eating so much and so often!

Stop, thief!

Meredith never took a pacifier, so she's obsessed with her brother's binkies. She keeps trying to take them whenever she has access (on the kitchen counter, in Jack's mouth...you get the picture). Mere's never-ending quest for binkies has been the source of a few tantrums over the past few days.

Jack has been doing great. After four days of heel sticks, his bilirubin level has come down and he's officially over the jaundice hump. He's a great sleeper and eater and has been staying awake for a little longer each day. As I type this, he's chilling out in his bouncy seat with Philly close by. What a great baby!

Welcome, Baby Jack!

As most of you know by now, Jack decided to make an early appearance (almost five weeks early, to be exact). To say the last week has been a whirlwind would be the understatement of the century. I really can't believe how much our family has changed in such a short period of time. Last Thursday, I had an ultrasound to check on Jack's development and my amniotic fluid level. It was lower than we wanted, so they admitted me to Labor and Delivery for IV hydration and overnight monitoring. It was so awful to call Chris and tell him that he had to go pick Meredith up from school because I wasn't coming home. He brought her to the hospital on the way home to see me and that made me feel a ton better. By Friday morning, the amniotic fluid had gotten a little better, so I was sent home with an appointment for another fluid check on Saturday morning. Chris, Meredith and I headed to the hospital on Saturday morning and I never left. My fluid level was much lower and we decided that I should be admitted and have an amnio to check to see if Jack's lungs were mature. It was a strange experience to be on the business end of that needle after seeing so many amnios at work. I told Chris if nothing else, I became a better genetic counselor because I can now tell patients what an amnio actually feels like! Unfortunately, his lungs weren't mature, so I was sent back to bed in L&D with some more IV fluids and to start a course of steroids to help Jack's lungs. Chris, Meredith and my parents spent the day with me and finally headed home that evening. By 10:30pm, I had started having contractions and Jack's heart rate was dipping too low, so I had to call Chris and tell him that he needed to rush to the hospital because we might end up having an emergency C-section that night. Jack thankfully settled down and we were able to make it through the night (contracting every five minutes). Chris and my dad spent the night in my hospital room and Mimi, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dave and Bekah stayed at our house with Meredith. Sounds like quite the slumber party, doesn't it? By Sunday morning, the fluid had all but dried up, so we made the decision to meet Jack. The C-section was actually a really great experience compared with Meredith's delivery and my pain hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Jack came out crying and did great initially, but then started to have some respiratory distress. He ended up in NICU on CPAP, but was off the CPAP and breathing on his own by 20 hours of life. He's a great nurser and is a very laid back, relaxed little guy. He was 7 lbs, 2 oz and 19 inches long. That works out to almost 94th percentile for his age--can't even imagine what he would've looked like at full term! He came home with us the same day I was discharged (Wednesday) and except for a little jaundice, has been doing amazingly well. He definitely doesn't act like a baby born at 35 weeks and 4 days of age! Big sister Meredith has been a real trooper through everything. It helps that Daddy, Mimi and Papa did everything they could to keep Mere and I from losing our minds. I'm so grateful for my husband and parents! Mere loves Jack, although she's still a little afraid to touch him. She loves to help with anything where Jack is concerned and is so sweet with him. She's learned lots of new words this week, as you can imagine. I can't believe it'll be a week tomorrow since Jack was born. I really can't remember what our lives were like before he came. He has been the perfect addition and makes our family complete.

Baby update

I had an ultrasound yesterday and an appointment with the OB today, so I thought I'd post a quick update. I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow and things are going pretty well. My blood pressures are still a little high and Jack's amniotic fluid has been a little low, but he's growing like a champ. He's measuring almost 4 weeks ahead--looks like that scheduled C-section was a good idea! I'm on the books for ultrasounds twice a week now until delivery plus a weekly appointment with the OB. If all goes well, we'll be meeting our new baby on the afternoon of July 9--only a month from tomorrow!

Spring!

It's officially spring at the Rooney house--thank goodness! Meredith has been playing outside like crazy. She loves to draw with sidewalk chalk all over our deck and has found out how much fun it is to run up the hill in our back yard and either run down or roll down (they both end up with Meredith on the ground at the bottom of the hill!). She likes to wear her pink sandals and her sunglasses ("eyes") when we go out. She's quite the fashionista! She is still talking up a storm and gives us a running commentary throughout the day. We took the dogs for a walk before bedtime tonight and she was telling them to "walk" when they stopped to sniff and told us about every flower, airplane and barking dog in the neighborhood.

My favorite thing she says these days is "not nice", complete with finger wagging. Pretty much everything we do is "not nice" if it isn't going along with Meredith's program. She tells Philly he is "not nice" when he licks the boo boo on his toe, tells Mia she is "not nice" pretty much for breathing and tells Daddy and Papa they are "not nice" when they tease her. She told Chris the other day "Daddy tease. Not nice". Imagine how hard it is not to laugh at that one! She has also been doing lots of coloring and Mere has gotten really good at knowing her colors. She can tell us pretty much all of her colors and can point out the right colors almost always when we ask her. Her favorite is definitely purple. We've planted purple flowers in the pots on our deck and she has her own purple flower pot that she gets to help water. She picks purple clothes to wear and points out anything purple. It's pretty funny! The hit of the day today was pink, but I think that's because she saw the pink cupcake that was sitting on the counter for her to have after dinner tonight.

We had a scare a few weeks back with my blood pressure, but things seem to be quieting down. I'm definitely more swollen and feel much ickier than I did with Mere, but I guess that goes with the territory with a second pregnancy. Jack has been moving all over the place and growing like a weed. I see the OB pretty much weekly now, so at least I get lots of updates! We scheduled my C-section for Friday, July 9 at 1pm. That means I have less than 55 days to go until we get to meet our little guy.

Here are some pictures of what Meredith has been up to:

Playing with Papa in the backyard--they were running up and down the hill and chasing the beach ball

Mere in her necklace and bracelet. For about two weeks, she wore these all the time. When she got up from a nap, the first thing she'd tell you was "neck-ace" and "bacet". I still have no idea how she remembered! She found these in my jewelry box and claimed them as her own.

Chris and my dad have been making great progress on the playroom. This trash can was full of sawdust. Mere was in the garage with the guys helping and Papa thought she'd like to see what the sawdust felt like. Want to guess how this turned out? It started innocently enough and ended with a really dusty kid. She was so into the sawdust that she took off her shoes so she could walk around and feel it between her toes.