Happy Halloween

Second Time Around

One of the major changes I see in myself as a second time mom is my ability to pack a minimalist diaper bag. I no longer feel compelled to pack for any and all possible situations we might face on a trip to the grocery store. Gone are the days where I heft a monster bag filled with Mylicon for gas, Tylenol for fever, 12 diapers, a full pack of wipes. 6 binkies, 3 changes of clothes, 4 burp cloths...you get the idea. Now, for the little daily outings, I frequently just carry my purse, toss in a few diapers, a travel pack of wipes, a binkie and pair of panties for Hailey. Unfortunately, the merits of my streamlined packing were called into question today at our local McDonald's. Hailey, Parker and I headed out, purse in hand, for lunch and playtime down the street. Upon our arrival, someone must have mentioned to Parker that it was time for me to eat because he became highly agitated and inconsolable, as he can only do when I want to enjoy a meal. So I picked him up, rocked him, tried to appease him with his binkie, but all of my attempts were met by screaming grumpiness. The last resort is always a shot of the good stuff- a little boob juice to calm him down. Sadly, breastfeeding in the play area at McDonald's is not the easiest, most discreet thing to do, especially with my mini mom pack which did not include a blanket. But I figured it out, latched him on, quieted him down, and ate with my other hand. As it turns out this did provide adequate relaxation as it was met with an explosion of epic proportions. A little grunting and groaning, all without letting go of me, and out came an avalanche of poop. It vibrated my booth. It filled his diaper. It ran up his back, out of his huggies, onto his gymboree onesie, and into my hand. I guess I should be thankful I was eating with the other one. All that, and of course he wasn't finished nursing. By the grace of god, the people Jona was supposed to interview didn't show so he was on his way to meet us for lunch. He stayed with Hailey while I took the super dooper pooper to the bathroom to clean him up. And then I remembered that the NEW me didn't over pack. The NEW me brought only the essentials. The NEW me failed to bring a change of clothes for her 7 week old infant. The NEW me suddenly entered a new class of women who bring their babies to fast food restaurants with no shirt on. AND did I mention I didn't even have a blanket! So the poor little poopin' machine had to sit there with a burp cloth, the only one I had, over his chilly little boobies, wearing only pants and socks. We're high class all the way baby.

Hailey and River Get Down

The video is a little dark, sorry. Hailey and her best friend River were shakin' their money makers last night. America's Got Talent!

But seriously mom, where is my bear skin rug??

Still Groovy

As a sign of her increasing maturity, Hailey has slowed down the dance moves and is now focused on perfecting her "shake it don't break it" routine.

Back to Sleep

(Hailey @ 2 months) (Parker last week)

Why do both my children choose to do this to me??

Pictures Galore

It may take me a while, but I do make up for my absence...

Sizing Parker up for October. Such a big boy we have!

Hailey & Parker cruisin' in style.

The World's BEST Big Sister

Enjoying some fresh air. Livin' it up- Parker style.

Our neighbors have a walnut tree. Let me say, its a damn good thing we love these neighbors. If we live here next year for walnut season, I'm cutting down the f*%#ing tree! This is only a small portion of the nuts on the ground- family not included.

Oh, poor daddy is so tired. You'd think he was the one breastfeeding. And NO, I'm not bitter at all.

People put shoes on their babies here in Nashville. As a native Floridian I am an extreme hater of all things with closed toes. But Parker does look awfully cute- and I think he knows it! So, here's one for you Dionne.

Today we visited Walden Farms for our annual pumpkin patch visit. With visions of last year, we didn't expect much (last year there had been a huge drought so there was no corn for the corn maze, very few pumpkins, lots of dry hay, etc, etc). Boy were we delighted to find this little gem. Hailey had so much fun she could hardly contain it. There was the mini hay maze, the corn maze, the hay mountain, animals to feed, corn in the sand box, and pumpkins GALORE! AND she let me put her hair in pigtails so she was totally the most adorable girl there. Top it all off with sunshine and 65 degrees, it was perfect.

Parker is sleeping and I'm going to try to finish watching Iron Man. I seem to make it through 30 minute increments before falling sound asleep.

THIS ONE HAND

BY: RICK PERRIN- brother extraordinaire

Its raining, its pouring, man I WISH I was snoring!

Have you ever had a moment where you are forced to wonder what you put out into the great space-time continuum that would result in your karma being so totally screwed? A moment where you must ask to the vast unknown "WHY????" I am SO there. Since Parker's birth, while we have absolutely reflected on how lucky and blessed we are, we have also had a whole onslaught of crap rained down on us. We have seen the kids' pediatricians at least once every single week since September 5th. Lets review:

Week 1: After coming home I noticed Parker's coloring on his face was strange when lying on his left side. I panicked, sure he had some cardiac anomaly. Called the dr, told to come in, educated about Harlequin Syndrome, a completely benign baby thing that affects their coloring. No big deal, will go away, stop stressing out.

Week 2: Parker's regular 2 week check up. Healthy baby, back up to birth weight. All is well and good.

Week 3: Hailey leaned her arm on Grandma Maupin's curling iron over the weekend and had to be seen to make sure it was healing well. It was, looking good, keep treating it like we are doing.

Week 4: Hailey woke up from her nap crying hysterically that her privates hurt and refused to go to the bathroom. Kept saying she had to tinkle, kept running to the potty, kept trying to go, but as soon as she would start she would cut it off and cry. Finally had to sit her in a warm tub to get her to go, saw the dr the next day.

Week 5: Parker got a stuffy nose and low grade fever. We were told to call the dr if he had a temp before he was 2 months old. Dr said we had to go to ER for work up. 48 hours in hospital- you know that story. Came home from hospital and mommy got a stomach bug.

Week 6: Sunday evening the stomach monster attacked me AGAIN! Started barfing in the afternoon, the other end soon followed. Lasted through the night. Tuesday morning Jona's stomach started. ALSO Tuesday morning, Hailey started coughing. Middle of the night last night Hailey woke up barking like a seal with a fever of almost 102 degrees and a leaky diaper. Lets also mention that Parker is having some sort of growth spurt that requires him to firmly believe that he should eat ever 1 1/2 to 2 hours ALL NIGHT LONG. MOMMY IS SO VERY VERY CLOSE TO LOSING IT!!!!! So today, we were back at the dr. They love us there.

Luckily, we already had an appointment for this morning for Parker's overdue one month visit. And the little man is quite the chunkster. 22 inches long, 10 lb 14 oz!! LOVE IT! That means he has gained 12 oz in a week, go mamasita. I do feel compelled to point out however, that despite the very effective breastfeeding in addition to the bodily explosions I have been experiencing, the weight is not just dripping off of me. Nope, prepreg clothes still don't fit. So, there are no pics attached to this message simply because I am too darn tired to hook the camera up to the computer. Get over it. I'll put some on soon. Don't worry, my kids are still the cutest things ever created!

Updates...FINALLY

Let me start by saying how happy we are to be home. I have slept so soundly in between feedings the past two nights, it has been glorious! Nothing like a hospital pull out couch to make you appreciate the comfort of your own bed! Parker obviously agrees.

Now a recap of the past couple of weeks I have gone without blogging...

My friend Kerri from work came to visit and brought a delicious lunch. Parker snuggled away and Hailey entertained. We are so lucky to have made such good friends here in Nashville!

We have all been keeping a close eye on the election and watching the many debates. After thinking it over, Parker has decided that all politicians are full of bologna (you know its ridiculous that I just had to sing the Oscar Mayer song to spell that right!) and all the debates in the world won't teach us anything if no one decides to be honest. Nonetheless- GO OBAMA!!!!

We found out at the hospital that Parker is now 10 lbs 2 oz! The boob juice is clearly doing its job as his rolls have started to fill in. He has started to really enjoy lounging in his boppy- man I love that pillow.

We spent Saturday- the day before the dreaded fever- at Cheekwood Gardens. This is a huge estate that has been developed into a botanical garden sanctuary and it is BEAUTIFUL! You will recall pics from last year's visit with the giant scarecrows. This was the same event, new scarecrows and all, but this year things were actually in bloom as we have had rainfall this season. We met friends Miriam, Rob, and their son Theo (Hailey's new buddy) for the day and had a great picnic on one of the lawns. The kids ran like crazy, and I don't know about Theo but Hailey took a GREAT nap that afternoon!!

Last night Parker had his first bath in his tub. I've been using the sink but it was just too challenging. He LOVED being in the water...I LOVE HIS FLUFF!

I will end this post with something for you all to look forward to...

As the embodiment of Ariel, this Halloween is going to rock!

Forgive me, I've been busy

For all those who have e-mailed me complaining about the lack of updated pictures, please allow me to explain. I have a bunch of new pics all ready to be uploaded to the blog. Stories all ready to share and make you smile and giggle and get all sentimental. However, instead of enjoying Hailey's nap time blogging away on a cloudy, relaxing day, I spent Sunday at the emergency room with Parker Daniel. The poor little guy hadn't slept well Saturday night, very restless, and woke up all stuffy. While Hailey was napping I took his temp and sadly he had a fever so I called the pediatrician. She informed me that a fever in a child under 2 months is considered an emergency and we needed to head to the ER for a work up. What she failed to mention- something I find extremely important- is that going to the ER for a work up did not just mean blood and urine cultures, which I expected, but also a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis. Also worthy of noting to frightened parents is that once you are there you are admitted for at least 48 hours of IV antibiotics. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? Why she would fail to mention this on the phone I have no idea as apparently it is standard practice. So what I thought would be a little blood work, turned into two days of me and Parker in the hospital with his poor little IV for the yucky meds being pumped into his system. Needless to say, it was not restful for me, although Parker did extremely well. Thank goodness they don't remember the things we put them through as infants.

We were allowed to leave before the 48 hours was up as I promised that as a nurse I would surely know if my child suddenly became REALLY sick and under the condition that we would return should anything suddenly appear on his blood or urine cultures. I did not receive that terrible call so I am assuming that no news is good news and that our little man just has a cold.

We came home last night and upon our arrival I started feeling terrible. Chills, body aches, queasy stomach. I figured it was just because I was so exhausted so I left Jona with the kids and went to bed. Unfortunately, Parker was grumpy and wanted to eat every hour so there was no real rest for the weary until 7ish when I ran to the bathroom to toss up my guts and everything I had eaten all day. Joy of joys. Its tough to breastfeed when you really want to barf. My upset stomach lasted through the night but seems to be better now. Parker is blissfully snoozing in his boppy and Hailey is napping (or at least she is being quiet!). And I am going to pay bills :)

I will put pics on later- I promise.