Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The newest littlest Carscadden!

Four days. That's how long it took us to update the blog when Miles was born.

Three weeks. I'm updating the blog three weeks after Will was born. We have a new littlest Carscadden: Will Kennedy Carscadden! He was born on May 3rd by elective repeat cesarean section (I may do an update in the future about why I, as a midwife, chose an elective repeat cesarean section over a trial of labor after previous cesarean section). At birth, he weighed 2.5 pounds more than Miles did! Whoa! 8 pounds 14 ounces! When they announced his weight in the operating room, I asked the anesthesiologist if they said 8 pounds, 14 ounces. When he said yes, my foul mouth spilled out a great big "Fuck!" Miles was 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and I gained the same amount of weight this pregnancy as last time. I was expecting a 7 pounder.

Will sure is a chunker. He eats often and greedily. He gained back his birth weight in one week. At his one week check up he weighed 9 pounds, more than Miles did at one month!

There are times I see a lot of Miles in Will. But when he was born, neither Lucas nor I thought they looked anything alike. Other than his weight, the biggest surprise for me is that he appears to have strawberry blonde hair. I never predicted that would be in the mix even though both Lucas and I have red headed relatives. In the sunlight his hair is totally orange!

The delay in updating the blog is a small nod to the way our life generally has been since he was born. With an older kid, one who has a schedule of activities and established friends, it is hard to dedicate the same amount of time to Will that Miles had as an infant. Will is definitely not carried and held as often as Miles was. I tolerate his crying a bit longer than I did Miles. That is to say that we do hold and carry Will a lot and I tolerate very little crying. But at Miles' one week check up when the doctor asked us how Miles tolerated being laid down, we revealed that he hadn't been put down yet. In a week, he was never put down! Will gets put down often - to deal with the other kid's needs.

Overall, the transition to two has been pretty seamless. I think in part that's due to Lucas and I both being home to care for the two kids. Also, making the transition to a parent from a non parent is a much larger life altering change than becoming a parent of two children.

Miles is loving Will. He kisses him all the time. He wants to hold him all the time. He seems to be adjusting to the new addition to our family with little resistance.

Some pictures of Will, just before and in this, his first three weeks:
34 weeks, in utero

Getting prepped for the OR

Will's first picture

Will's first picture on Lucas' phone

Standard in-the-bassinet-in-the-hospital picture

Cheeks

Seriously, look at those cheeks

This was us the entire two days in the hospital

Blissed out

Miles meets Will

He's so excited!

Still begging to hold him at home

Sleepy Will

Awake Will

Yawning Will 
Out cold

Cheeks for days

The boys. Doing their thing.

I'm a mother of two boys!

Baby toes!

A lot of what we do these days.

So good. So peaceful.

Miles: Left. Will: Right.


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Dear Miles: 4 years

Dear Miles,

You are four years old today. You are definitely a fully formed person. You have opinions and personality. You have got sarcasm down and you surprise me with the quality of your jokes.

A brother came into your life eight days ago, Will. You are the sweetest with him. You want to kiss him on his forehead each night before bed and you always want to hold him. You told me yesterday that you love him when he breastfeeds and is asleep and when he is awake but not crying. You also said you didn't love him when he was crying. I don't blame you really. Even though it's only been eight days, I'm super impressed with how you're adapting to the changes that a new baby sibling brings to our lives.

We're excited for you to start pre-kindergarten this August. Daddy brings you to story time every Tuesday at the library. I got to go yesterday for the first time and it was fascinating to watch my little guy, usually so energetic and mobile, sit still for a half hour listening to someone else read stories. You were inquisitive and participatory and it was a joy to watch you in that environment. I have no doubt you'll do well in school. Everyone knew your name at story time. You make friends so easily. People are endeared to you because of your sweet and outgoing nature.

You are still our little scientist, pushing limits, finding out where the boundaries are. You ask great questions about the world. Yesterday's question was whether grass grows into trees. You are fascinated by the human body and we're feeding that fascination with books and puzzles about organs and bones. After your brother was born I showed you the placenta and you said "That's a cool placenta!"

I'm so happy you made me a mother. I'm so happy you're my kid. I love the way you explore the world. I love the pure joy you have when you're learning new things. I love you. I do.

Happy Fourth Birthday!

Love, Mama.