2 Month Stats

Zachary had his two month doctor appointment yesterday. Just as expected, he's perfect!!! He is 23 inches long (he's grown 2 whole inches!) and 11.4 pounds! He is such a SWEET baby! As I write this I am sitting in the floor with him while he plays underneath his Gymini mat. He is cooing, smiling, batting at the mobile and, of course, puking all the while. The puking doesn't seem to bother him though.

We had an appointment with the lactation specialist today. I needed a little perspective and encouragement. One would think that breastfeeding is an innate behavior that should need little coaching or education, but that is not the case. You can really get into your head and psych yourself out about milk supply, pumping, etc if you do not have a good social support network. Fortunately, we live in Athens where breastfeeding is all over the place and there are plenty of people to encourage you!!! I think we are doing fine as Zach has gained about four pounds since he was born- right on target!

'Tis The Season for Tailgating!

Many of us have transformed over the last years from single, to coupled, to married and now parents!!! Gone are the days of wild and crazy tailgating for us (well, at least for the majority of games) where we stumbled to the game, smuggled liquor into our stadium cups and left to go immediately downtown afterward. Ahh, those were the days! But, our new life is so great now too. We have little ones that we want to bring up in true Red and Black tradition, by tailgating of course!! If anyone is looking to relocate to a more family-friendly atmosphere, we have the best spot! We set up shop behind my office building, the Coverdell Center, which is in between the Vet School and the Carlton Street parking deck/Coliseum. The backyard of the building is large green space, enough for several tents and plenty of room for the kiddies to run around, crawl around or bring a pak and play! We have access to the tennis court bathrooms plus port o potties (ewww) and the deck is $20 to park. We find it easy to leave after the game from this location too, which is key b/c we are always so tired after. Anyway, if interested, let me know and we will save you a spot at the Lil' Dawgs Tailgate Station!!!

The Desitin Diaries

While I realize the title of this post might conjure up memories of babies with diaper rash, or how daddies usually use too much when all they need is a small pin drop, etc, I am here to tell you that this story is totally different. Today was my first day with both boys by myself. David has gone back to work so it's not the four of us anymore. It is now me versus the boys. As you can tell from previous posts, Cooper is a handful. Today I was nursing the baby and I noticed it was awfully quiet. I thought Cooper was just playing in his room. Then he walked into the living room. I knew something was up. There was something white on his shirt. Then I noticed something white on his hands. Oh No!! He has gotten into the Desitin and I'm going to have to wash it off of him and change his clothes. Then, I start thinking. Where is the bottle? How long has he been alone with said bottle of Desitin? I walk into the front bedroom to witness what he has been doing. David has been fixing my parent's computer this week. Cooper had smeared Desitin ALL OVER the monitor and the cpu. Lovely. So, off I go with a wet wipe to clean the machinery and Cooper. Hope mom and dad don't mind the smell of baby butt cream!

I must be doing something wrong. I just don't understand how to keep a sane household when it's just me. I have all these plans of things I want to do, and then the baby decides he needs to eat. But then I can't run around and chase Cooper and keep him out of the Desitin. Then the baby decides to nap, but I don't want to wake him by putting him in the car seat b/c he's so peaceful, so I go off to monitor Cooper. But then the baby wakes up and only wants to be held. It's a vicious cycle. It will take me a while to get my bearings, but hopefully it will get easier! It has too!!

I've met so many parents lately that have kids this close together. The stories are all the same- if you can make through the first few months without killing each other, you'll be just fine! I never realized that having babies close together was so common and I have met, no lie, five families this week who have them 15, 18 and 20 months apart. It's a good thing I have supportive family and friends!!!! It definitely takes a village!!

Stats on the Boys

So, I have failed to update as often as I'd like, but honestly you are lucky you are even getting this much! We have created a monster- Zach likes to be held all the time! Well not ALL the time, but a good majority. He will likely be our snugly child. I posted a video of me acting silly to try to get him to coo on film. It always happens that as soon as you pull out the camera, they stop doing whatever it is that you want them to do. Cooper is the same way. I also posted a video of Cooper playing in the cabinets the other night.



I forgot to post about Cooper's 18 month appointment at the doctor. He is 25.11 pounds and 32.5 inches. I was totally shocked at his weight because I swear he feels like he weighs a good 30 pounds or more! He's like picking up lead! He continues to be hilarious. Or bad. But not bad like Children of the Corn bad, just bad as in he's a typical 18 month old boy who is rambunctious and mischievous. He totally knows when he is doing something he shouldn't and gets this grin across his face that is oftentimes hard to resist.


Cooper will start a new daycare at the end of the month. We are excited because they are exposing the kids to art classes and music classes every day. The curriculum seems solid and there aren't that many kids right because it is a brand new facility, so more time for the teachers to run around behind Cooper saying 'No' and 'Stop that'. He will thrive around the other kids for sure!

Zach is weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds! He's also grown an inch so far. I weigh him every Monday and Thursday when I go to my breastfeeding groups in town. It's so nice to be with other mommies and talk to the lactation experts about any and everything. Athens is such a supportive environment for new moms and second time moms!

David and I will celebrate our five year anniversary on Friday. So much has happened in the five years that we have been together! He is such a good dad and I couldn't have asked for a better partner!

A Lot Can Happen In A Month...

It's been a month since our lives have turned upside down- for the better! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday that we were in the hospital; I can remember everything so fondly...I finally broke down and watched the video of the birth the other day. My mom filmed it and let me tell you, she got the money shot. It was so amazing. I'm not sure that the boys will ever want to see the video in their lifetimes, but I will definitely cherish both videos that I have of my little miracles!!

Zach is doing well. He is a puker, just like Coop. The doctor says its reflux, others speculate that he's over eating, that my let down is too fast, etc, etc. I think part of his problem is that he has so much gas to push out that he ends up throwing all of his food up! Whatever the cause, it's more of an annoyance at this point rather than a health concern. These are his weight stats: birth- 8 lbs, leaving the hospital- 7.9, one week after birth 7.2 and finally, today he is 9.7! Whoa! I'm so surprised! With all of the milk that comes out of him, I would never have guessed that he has put on almost 2 pounds in a month! Breastfeeding is so intense b/c you don't know how much they are getting, if they are getting the good hind milk, when they are still hungry and when they just want to suck, etc. I have been crazed about weighing him every chance I get b/c I have been paranoid that he's not getting enough. But, I don't think I'll have to worry about that any time soon! He continues to be a sweet baby. He has already rolled over from his tummy to his back, he is starting to smile and even laughed today! He is so strong (maybe even stronger than his brother) and has been holding his head up since birth, but has the strongest ab and leg muscles ever! Cooper might have a competitor in the midst!

Cooper continues to be hilarious! He loves to kiss the baby and put the baby's pacifier in the baby's mouth. His vocabulary continues to grow- David and I stopped counting his words at 100. He can already count to 10, say his ABC's and can tell you which letters are which and which numbers are which! His little sentences and mocking of what we say is hysterical. He told his Paw Paw that he wanted 'pancakes and coffee' for dinner one night. He always wants to help us cook in the kitchen, "I cook, I cook Mommy". Last night we had two interesting things happen. All of a sudden he became very interested in exploring his 'orafaces' when changing his diaper. I'm hoping this is a developmental phase and that it will pass quickly- eww! Then, I just happened to turn around in the bathroom in time to see him taking his toothbrush out of the toilet and begin to put it in his mouth. I just about croaked. I guess he thought it was his own miniature sink for his own personal use! Again, eww. I'm sure there are more lovely events to experience with little boys but these two will last me a while.

We are trying really hard to be just as attentive to both boys. It seems as though Zach loves human contact and really likes to be carried in our arms or in the carrier. I think it makes his tummy feel better too. David's summer is ending this week. He is sad and so am I. It has been so nice having him home this time around. It was the best extended 'vacation' that we have both had in a long time. In a few weeks Cooper will start a new daycare. I will be looking at returning to work in September and life will change AGAIN!

Zach Part Two

Zach was born exactly four weeks ago today. I cannot believe it has gone by so fast! I have been loving having him sleep on my chest, stay awake more often and begin to try to find his voice. He is such a sweetie. We are taking him to a chiropractor on Monday to see about alleviating his throwing up problem. I had heard about this before, taking babies to chiropractors to compensate for the intense birth process, and after talking with folks in Athens whose babies had benefited from this, I was convinced we needed to at least try. For instance, the chiropractor herself has a baby that puked as much as Zach. She said that her treatments on him have cut his puking by 50-75 percent. Another mommy had a baby who could latch on to nurse on one side only; after some therapy, he latched on perfectly. So, I will keep you posted. Below are some pics that our friend Kelly took with their fancy camera at about two and half weeks old.

Introducing Zachary Wells (a.k.a. the Longest Post Ever)

We're baaaaack.....I am now finding time to get back into the world of blogging. Zachary is chilling out in his swing (thank goodness for the swing) and will probably need one more feeding before we all go down for the night. I haven't posted since I was in labor, so I'll fill you in on the events of the last three weeks.

I started in labor on Thursday morning with contractions; they went away by late morning, but I knew something was up! Friday morning I woke up with contractions and knew this was it!! I labored at home until we finally decided we needed to go to the doctor for a check to see just how far along I was. We arrived at the doctor's office around 1:30 or 2:00, the np checked me and had a 'look' on her face. She said I was about 4 cm and that he was 'very low'; so much so that she touched his head! We went down to get hooked up to the monitor and she asked me how much my first child weighed. I told her 7.10 and she laughed- she said she predicted that this one would be much bigger!!! Anyway, she told us we could either go on to hospital or go back home; she didn't seem too thrilled with us going back home. I think she was pretty sure the little one was going to come fast! So, David and I talked it over and we went on to the hospital.

We probably got settled in at the hospital around 3:00 PM; the doctor broke my water around 4:30 (by the way, best feeling ever! It was such a relief to get rid of the pressure!). Contractions started coming almost one right after the other. I finally told the nurse that I needed to push, that he was coming out whether she liked it or not- she literally checked me and held her hand there while she called for the doctor on the phone- she was holding him in! By the time the doctor arrived, I pushed about three times and Zachary was here! The doctor put him on my chest, David cut the cord and all was well! He weighed in at eight pounds even and 21 inches.

The last few weeks have been good; he is such a sweet baby. He sleeps ALL the time and wants to nurse ALL the time! He likes to cuddle and spent every night until this past Sunday in our bed with us. We moved him to the swing and he loves it. He is nursing about every two hours and can go about four hours at night. David has been such a GOOD dad; he helps with Cooper and diapers and the cooking. It's great having him home (even though I'm sure he looks forward to his MWF class in the afternoons!). Having a toddler and an infant is HARD! Everyone said it would be and they were not lying. It's difficult to nurse a baby all of the time and still be able to play and interact with the toddler. It's getting better though. Our main goal right now is to get Zachary to gain weight (he is a puker; I thought we had put that behind us with Cooper, but I guess not!) which he is doing well. We go to the mommy/baby nursing group on Mondays. We try to walk every day and we try to keep Cooper under control!

Cooper loves to kiss the baby and point out all of his body parts (nose, eyes, etc). He also likes to tell us when the baby is crying, 'Baby cayenne'. Other than checking on him about twice a day, he doesn't really pay attention to Zach. It will be fun to watch the two of them grow up together. I'm already planning summer birthday party themes in my head! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!

False Labor or Is It?

So, last night I awoke with contractions, around 1:30 AM. I had already been awakened by the HORRIBLE thunderstorm that was raging outside our windows, especially after the power had flickered three times! It was the same scenario that transpired with Cooper..."David, I'm having a contraction" to which David rolled over and gave me his hand to hold. This was it! He was coming, we just needed to time them and then call the doctor. TONS of things were going through my mind- do we go ahead and call someone to come over and stay with us until we go to the hospital so that they can stay with Cooper? Do we go ahead and call family so that they are on alert? Do we call the doctor yet? Oh crap, there is a thunderstorm! What if we get struck by lightening (I never said these were all rational thoughts)? Then, about 4:00 AM the contractions died down and eventually stopped. I drifted off to sleep, somewhat thinking that they might come back at any moment, but woke up later this morning disappointed. I guess he was just making a practice run. It is funny how you forget about what labor feels like until it happens again- there was a moment of panic- with the first, I didn't set myself up for any expectations, didn't worry about the pain, just went with the flow. After having done it natural before, I now know what to expect and I'm not going to lie, I was a little scared. But, no need to worry. I did it before, I can do it again- just waiting on the real deal to happen.....

2 cm and Holding...

So, the trip to the doctor yesterday was NOT as eventful as I had hoped. I really had hoped that when she went to check me, all of a sudden my water would break and I'd be rushed over to St. Marys. Didn't happen. The good news is that I am at least making some progress of 2 cm. Now, I know that folks have stayed at 2 cm for weeks, so please do not share those stories with me. I am really hoping to not be induced, so we'll keep praying that he comes on his own BEFORE Monday June 22nd. It would be sweet if he came on Father's Day, but I'm ready NOW!!! I think the worst part of this time in pregnancy is underwear. My underwear have just now started to roll under my belly- one of my biggest pet peeves!! He's just so out there and normal underwear simply won't stay in place. I cannot stand anything to be under my belly but I hate to invest in new underwear just for a few more days!!!! Anyway, I digress; we are just waiting for any sign that Zachary is ready to meet us! Hopefully it will be soon!! Stay tuned...

Waiting on the World to Change...

Que Milagros! What a miracle, I am actually blogging!! I have been on hiatus for some time now, but I feel as though I might have more time soon to post updates to this site (but let's not hold our breathe; i have resigned myself to not being a great blogger). I am now 39 weeks and holding steady. We are definitely in a state of 'hurry up and wait'; we know our world is about to change, and oddly we're ready for it! I'm really not feeling a thing that would indicate labor is on the way...maybe a back pain here and there, maybe one contraction every now and then, but otherwise, Zachary appears to be safe and sound in my belly. He is probably scared to come out because Cooper is so LOUD, but if he only knew how much fun his big brother was...

Cooper really has no idea about what is going on. He knows to be 'easy' with Mommy's belly (and rubs it ever so gently; it's precious) and he can say 'brodur' and 'Zach', but that's about it. I vacillate between being confident that Cooper will handle this well, and worried that he won't. Time will tell. I can't wait to see Cooper's reaction to the first encounter in the hospital!!

We have the bassinet set up and ready in our room. The car seat is in the car, the double stroller has been assembled and taken for a test drive and everyone is on alert. Two of our close friends in Athens have agreed to be on baby-watch duty with Cooper in case we need to leave in the middle of the night- they will stay with him until our family can get there. There is really a lot of planning when it comes to the second child. What if we go in the middle of the night? We need a backup plan to take care of Cooper. What if he comes in the middle of the day? We need to know that Chu Cha can keep him until some member of our family gets there. What if he comes at dinner time? Lots of scenarios and lots of decisions to make so as not to totally disrupt Cooper's routine and scare him half to death!!

I'm looking forward to maternity leave. I have a whole new approach this time. David will be home most of the time (accept for when he has summer school classes- gotta finish that doctoral degree!!) and I'm not going to worry about work AT ALL (okay, that might be a big statement to live up to).

So, we're just sittin and waitin. I'm still at work; might as well be productive since the little guy is still cooking. The office pool on when the baby will come has lots of entries; the person who won last time picked Wednesday of this week...we'll see if she is right two times in a row!!! Below is a pic of 39 weeks today. Not the best outfit to show just how pregnant I am; I'm wearing one of those dresses that just hangs, it doesn't even look like i have a butt. Anyway, hopefully the next time you hear from us, we'll be at St. Mary's!!!

19 Weeks and counting....

The baby is about the size of a large heirloom tomato! Weighing 8.5 oz and 6 in. Next week we get to be the size of a banana! February 4 is the day we find out if Cooper is going to have a baby sister or baby brother!! Last night David got right up to my belly and started talking to the baby and no sooner did he get the first syllable out when the baby totally kicked him in the face! Well, it wasn't as noticeable to David on the outside, but I sure felt it on the inside!!

First Haircut January 10, 2009

It was time. As much as I hated to admit it, Cooper needed a haircut. It had just gotten too long- it was in his eyes, he had wings on the sides and it was almost to the point of a small ponytail in the back. It would have been different if he had had curls, but his hair at this point is still very straight, and needed to be cut. So, Gigi and I were off to the mall in Athens for his first haircut. He did surprisingly well- it did take the two of us to distract him, but in the end everything went smoothly! He started out sitting in the high chair by himself, but soon needed Mommy to keep him corralled. He thought that the electric razor was the most fun, and proceeded to take the comb from the sytlist and gnaw on it. The end result was fabulous!

The Mother of All Posts

So, clearly I took a brief sabbatical from blogging during the fall. A lot of interesting things were happening in the Wells household! After much prodding from friends and relatives, I will now catch you up on the last three or so months of our lives!

When last we blogged, Cooper had turned into tailgater extraordinaire and was crawling and pulling up on almost anything he could find. His favorite activity, and still to this day, is getting into the cabinets and playing the symbols with the pot lids.


We ventured out to the pumpkin patch in Watkinsville to pick out Cooper's very first pumpkin. He was more concerned with trying to eat them than anything else!










Halloween was a fun time for us. Cooper was a pumpkin and had a party at his then daycare and a party at his friend Junah's house. He played so well with the other kids and liked going from house to house and listening to people tell him what a cute 'punkin' he was!



(Caption: Feeling extremely nauseated; especially since David had fed me a tofu meatball earlier in the evening without knowing it would taste like garbage. Yum.)



It was around this time that David and I found out that we would have a new addition to our family in June! A baby (sex yet to be determined) will be making its arrival around June 22nd. To answer your questions: yes we know what causes it, yes we wanted another child and no we are not crazy. It was a good thing that Cooper started to walk also during this time- he is getting ready to get out of the way for a little sister or brother!




Cooper did really well with walking. He started taking his first brave little steps at daycare and then David and I worked with him at home at night. After a few days he was completely independent! Having him walk in shoes was a different story- he did fine, but it was like a cat walking on wet grass at first- just a little awkward.

We took Cooper to ride the Pink Pig before Christmas at Lenox Mall. He didn't really know what was going on, but he liked looking at all of the colorful displays!







Finally, Christmas was upon us and Cooper had a nice time playing with all of the boxes that the toys came in. Kidding, he did like the boxes, but has also been steady at play with all of his new toys.











Normally I have great New Year's resolutions. Most of the time they include things like being more healthy, spending less money, etc. This year, my only goal is to survive. I recently realized that having children close in age comes naturally in my family- my grandmother had my aunt and uncle on my dad's side 10 months apart; my mom's sister had two of her kids about 16 months apart; my two cousins on my dad's side are 12 months apart. They all survived and so can we! This will be a great year for the Wells Family. We will soon find out what baby number 2 is sometime in February. We will keep you posted. Also, stay tuned for pics from 'First Haircut' from this past weekend!