Guess who has gained a remarkable 17 ounces since last Friday?? Go baby go!
Gabey is at 8lbs, 8oz now! Born at 7lbs 7oz, then he lost a little in the hospital, which took him to 7lbs 1 oz. Within three days he was back to birth weight - and now he's getting rounder very quickly! Mom is happy, pediatrician is very happy, and best of all, Gabe is a very thriving little breastfed boy.
Here he is yesterday, looking wide awake and cheeky.
Mom came and helped a lot this past week, and it was sad to see her go. She did tons of shopping, cooking, playing with "the grandbabies", and things around the Wee Cottage, all with her usual energy and verve. Brian loved having his Nana around, and Gabe enjoyed more in-arms time than I could have given him while trying to keep Big Brother happy. For Bri, it was a week of all kinds of fun and goodies - and now he comes to me and says earnestly, "Something special? (earnest smile, blink, blink) A treeeat?"
Thanks for everything Mom. We miss you.
With all the hullballoo leading up to and surrounding the birth of a child, when all is said and done, life continues much as it did before the new arrival. I guess the second time around you already have your routines and schedule in place, so the baby fits into the preexisting scenario, whereas the first time you're figuring out every step as you go. Inventing your household and parenting wheel, as it were.
Evidence to support this claim is pictured below...playground, fun mornings with Kristen and Mary, snacks and trucks and playing before the inevitable naptime! Love that wheel loader Nanny. We definitely had to bring it along to the park for some good old dirt digging.
Red in the face after chasing the ball like mad for an hour in the warm sunshine!
Somebody got Max pajamas for his birthday. Thanks to Nanny for the cutest sleepsuit ever!
Here's Max eating his favorite breakfast of steel-cut oatmeal with raisins and walnuts.
And it was still hot.
Gabe is now a little over a week old and his birth already seems like ages ago. He's been thriving at home - after an initial loss of just five percent of his birth weight, he was back to 7lbs 7 oz within three days, well before the hoped-for week time frame. He is getting bigger every day -- and we'll find out how big this Friday when he meets his pediatrician for the first time. But more important, he just seems content and comfortable with us, and I'd say he's fitting in beautifully.
What else to say about Gabey thus far? Although it's hard to tell from the pictures, his newborn hair is white blond on his little head, which is perfectly round and just darling, by the way. It looks like his eyes are a dark blue-grey right now, bluer than Bri's were, and no dark hair like Brian had, although Bri's has lightened up considerably in the past two years. Will Gabe be my blond-haired, blue-eyed boy? Only time will tell, as they say. While he's only been with us for a few days, Gabe seems to be a very mellow fellow - content to eat and sleep with little to no fussing, happiest in arms but content in his carseat, swing, and cosleeper bassinet (for at least part of the night).
Of course, all these things can change as a baby takes shape, but I must say that Gabe feels less urgent and generally more patient than Bri did (right out of the gate he was that way) - we think Bri's temperament is rooted in mine, while Gabey takes more after his father - it really seems like that. Sometimes I'd get exasperated with Bri, who is good-natured and intense at the same time, but I've always understood him. With Gabey- I'm just marveling at him already as I often do when Jason calmly fields the things in life that "make me crazy" in two seconds. We'll see if this narrative holds as the boys grow older - I suppose you really never know, and it is a little early to be diagnosing their personalities. But already it has been fun, just seeing how they are true individuals, even though they have the same parents.
People always say that newborns sleep all the time, and while that has held true with Gabey up to now, with Bri I remember, from the get-go, thinking, "what are they talking about, sleep all the time?" They are totally different kids!
Brian likes to narrate Baby Gabe's activities - e.g., "Baby Gabe is talking" whenever he makes a noise; "Baby Gabe is burping"; "Baby Gabe is right there!" He also likes to touch and kiss his little brother very gently - but not just one kiss. Instead, it's time to name the parts of the body. "Kiss Baby Gabe's hand?" Kiss other hand? Kiss nose?" Kiss head?' Kiss knuckles?" etc., etc. Today I FINALLY got some pictures of the two babes together - see below for a few of those.
Things have gone extraordinarily well this first week - the positive mpact of a smooth birth experience cannot be overstated. It's been great to have my Mom here to help with the full-time, full-tilt task of entertaining Brian, as well as with cooking and grocery shopping. At this point I'm trying to figure out my timing with everything - how to settle Gabe before putting Bri down for his nap, how to get both guys situated so I can cook dinner, how to tote both to the car and the playground before Bri starts going downhill pre-naptime. I would say my time management skills exceed those from my professional working life since Bri came along, but this will certainly be a new challenge.
So there are moments of craziness and moments of feeling like this is all I can handle...and then there are many moments when I look at Brian and Gabe and think - when can I do this all over again?
One thing at a time, Jason says.
Sometimes Gabey gives a little smile...
Jason and Gabe from Catherine Wright on Vimeo.
The Boys from Catherine Wright on Vimeo.
St. Luke's volunteers knit these sweet little hats for all the newborns who come through - they really are cute. When we got home with Gabe, Brian, every the hatlover, plucked it off of his head and tried it on for a while. Here, he appears to be contemplating this new two-child household state of affairs. (B has done very well with his baby brother so far - he wants to "kiss baby Gabe" every day and to show him his fire trucks.)
Yes, the blog has been dark for a week - things have been busy around here! On Monday night, 11.23.09, we welcomed Gabriel Thomas into our family. He was born at 11:21pm (missing sharing a birthday with brother Bri by a mere 40 minutes!) in what was a very quick and all natural labor and birth - about four hours, only 45 minutes of which was spent at the hospital. Gabe was 7 lbs., 7 oz.and 20 inches long - he emerged after one big push with a perfectly round little head coated with a hint of white blond hair. The whole process was as uncomplicated as it gets. We're all doing really well and falling in love all over again every minute.
So, Brian now has a little brother and blog costar...here's Gabe on his first morning of life, at St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco...
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