Ada, Day Three

Our first night and day at home went well. Ada slept much better at home than she did at the hospital. She prefers to sleep on or next to someone, but she did have a few stretches of independent sleep during the day.

Here are a few details about Ada:

• She has dark hair with highlights, and blond eyebrows and eyelashes.
• She doesn't open her eyes very much. We have yet to really figure out her eye color!
• She likes to be swaddled, but does not particularly like the pacifier.
• So far, she is nursing really well.

"Active" time in the Boppy.

Snooze on the couch with Daddy.

All dressed up to go visit Doris.

Resting on Mum.

Jude and Ada

Jude arrived at the hospital today, and the first thing he wanted to do was hold the baby. He tried really hard to convince us that he didn't need any help. Nice try, buddy.

Ada, Day Two

Ada doesn't seem to like to sleep at night, but she did sleep for almost the entire day today. We rested up in the morning, finished up our last few tests, and went home from the hospital in the early evening.

Ada took turns sleeping on Daddy and Mum.

A rare moment of semi-wakefulness.

Jude came to the hospital to escort his sister home. This time he was much more cooperative with the family photos.

We are home and settling in. If you are in town, give us a call if you want to stop by to meet our daughter!

Happy Birthday Ada!

Surprise!

6pm: Our dinner guests arrived.

7:00: Jude went to bed.

7:30: I assured my mother-in-law that I would NOT be having a baby in the next few days.

7:31: Contractions began.

8:30: They started to get painful.

9:00: We decided that one game of cards was probably enough.

9:30: Time to pack the bags for the hospital.

11:30: Admitted to Labor & Delivery (5cm!).

1:11 am: Water broke (8cm).

1:30: Doctor arrived.

1:47: Pushing began.

1:51: Ada Linden was born. 7 pounds, 11 ounces. 20 inches long. Woah.

39 Weeks Pregnant

May 1 is right around the corner - next Saturday to be exact. The belly is growing and my energy levels are waning. We've shifted into "take it easy" mode around our house, with plenty of play time for Jude, but not too much else. I'm feeling a lot better than I did at this point in my last pregnancy, but it does start to become draining in the last few weeks, no matter how "easy" the pregnancy.

I've been lucky to have the opportunity to take a weekly prenatal yoga class, prenatal massage, and swimming at the gym. I think that the combination of all of these things has really helped prevent and treat the severe back pain that I experienced in the third trimester with Jude. It also makes a huge difference to have some help sleeping (I'm taking half an Ambien most nights). I wish I had known that was an option last time! Being comparatively rested when the baby is born is going to be nice.

We'll be sure to post here once the baby is born. Hopefully from the hospital, but if not then definitely once we get her home.

Little Things: Jude, 20 Months

Jude is twenty months old today, on Earth Day 2010. Here are a few tidbits about life with Jude these days.

Games:

Jude's games are getting more and more complex. Yesterday, he combined two of his favorite toys (blocks and the little red wagon) by filling up the wagon with blocks and then pulling them around the room. Then of course we had to take them in and out of the wagon a few times, then build a house and knock it down a few times. When we needed more blocks to build the house taller, Jude brought the wagon back over to the pile, filled it with blocks, and pulled them back to the construction zone (this was after walking back and forth a few times carrying two blocks at a time). Good problem solving skills and use of tools, Jude!

The game of "IN" has also been evolving. At first, it was hiding under the covers of our bed in the morning after story-time. Next, Jude would say "IN" to ask to go behind a couch cushion with a book to read it on his own. Soon afterward, IN became a game played before bedtime in which Jude would slide behind the bed, demand that we read aloud from The Swiss Family Robinson, interrupt us to declare that he was "stuck", and then shriek as we pulled him out into the middle of the room. Lately, "IN" means that Jude wants to be buried in pillows so that he can hide. We, of course, are expected to search diligently for him while he is hidden. If we let up for a minute, he will remind us with a cry of "ARE YOU!!!" (for "where are you?"). We also play "ARE YOU" in the car with his Easter toy (a bendy rabbit) whom he has named "Hoppy-Hoppy". Where does he come up with these names? We also have a name for the golf head cover (Bubby) and large stuffed bear from my childhood (Bobo). Below, Jude is prepared to begin a game of "IN".

Bubbles:

Jude can't get enough of them. I think he would blow bubbles all day if he could convince someone to join him. This game is called "bubble-ubble".

Jude Juice:

We were given a juicer last month by Danel and Jude is hooked. Daddy prepares all of the fruits and vegetables, then Jude turns the juicer on and puts the produce in a little at a time. He's also pretty good at drinking his Jude Juice out of an open cup. We are always on the lookout for good juicing ingredients!

Big changes are coming in the next month for our Jude! It's hard to believe that the newborn that we first met twenty months ago has developed into this energetic, funny, creative toddler. How will a little sister change our family dynamic? We can't wait to find out.

Say It Ain't So, Joe

I'm afraid my boy is developing some of my fashion sense.

Iggy and Jude

Our friends Sasha and Bjorn live in Portland during the winter and Homer, Alaska in the summer. Their younger son, Iggy, is almost exactly Jude's age (due two days later, born five days later) and the two boys love to play together. Yesterday, we took Jude and Iggy to the park to play so that Sasha and Bjorn could have some time to pack for their drive up to Alaska this year.

The difference between the boys is striking. Iggy is an observer; Jude is a perpetual motion machine. Iggy sits at the top of the slide for a few minutes deciding if he wants to slide down; in that time, Jude has already been up and down three times. When Jude sees other kids playing with the "steering wheel", he pushes right in and wants a turn; Iggy watches the fun and then takes his turn when everyone else is finished (and he gets to play for as long as he likes).

This scene at the top of the slide is typical. Jude is ready to go while Iggy sits back and makes up his mind.

Iggy does have an older brother, and so he knows some tricks that Jude hasn't learned yet. Like swinging on the bar at the top of the slide before launching himself down (a much faster ride). Jude picked up on this one pretty quickly, and was swinging on bars for the rest of the morning.

Iggy is perfectly happy to sit on my lap during snack while Jude runs around and eats ten times as much food. Eventually Jude sat down too and we got a few cute photos of the three of us.

We'll miss Iggy and family while they're gone for the summer!

Jude and his Grandmothers

Jude got to spend some time with his two grandmothers in the past few weeks. He has decided to disregard the names that they had chosen for themselves. Terry is "Nee-Nee" and Peggy is "Ama". I love these two photos of Jude with his biggest fans...

Begging for cheese from Nee-Nee.

Sharing a scone at the coffee shop with Ama.

Bedtime Stories

Jude gets very animated while reading before bed. This book has holes for the animals' eyes, and Jude loves to poke his fingers through.

Swim Trainer

My sister insists that this floating bathing suit is the best way to teach a small child to swim. You basically take out one of the foam inserts every few days until there isn't any floatation assistance left. We gave it a test run on Jude a few days ago when it arrived in the mail, and his first reaction was not too positive.

But a few minutes later, once we took it off, he was asking for us to put it back on, so hopefully it wasn't a lasting dislike. I know, the thing looks ridiculous, but Jude is going to drown himself if he doesn't learn to swim soon. He is completely fearless in the water, dunking himself and coming up laughing. He runs through the shallow end, falling face first, trusting that someone will pick him up when it is time to breathe. At the pool this weekend, I think he would have gone down the water slide a hundred times if Daddy had the patience. Good thing one of his parents likes to swim!

Uppy Up

This game is called Uppy Up. This is basically its highest form.

The End of an Era

Jude is done with his eating chair. At first, he would eat his meals in his chair, and snacks at the table. Then it was an occasional breakfast. And now we're down to "NO WAY, GET ME OUT OF THIS THING". I guess it's good we didn't get a second one for baby girl!

Oh, but he does still use it to play ON/OFF with the kitchen light. So we won't put it away just yet...

New Baby on the Way

We are busy getting ready for the new baby around our house. Jude likes to help by testing out all of the baby gear to make sure it is good enough for his little sister.