Big week! 1 month old & ear tubes for big sister

It's been a busy week! Ryan was officially a month old on Thursday. The time has absolutely flown by!! He is growing in leaps and bounds - he has dimples and rolls everywhere in addition to his multiple chins :) He is completely fascinated by Lily and watches her intently every time she is close to him. He has been coming with me to daycare to drop off and pick up Lily most days, and he is a big hit there with both the teachers and the kids in Lily's class. When we walk in the room, the kids (ages 13 months to 2 years) all crowd around the carseat saying "baby, baby!" You can tell that Lily is a proud big sister because she is all smiles during these little show and tell sessions, plus it's fun for her that she's the only one who is allowed to touch him while all the other kids just get to look :)



On Ryan's one month birthday, Lily had a procedure to get bilateral ear tubes. We were up bright and early to go to the surgery center (we had to be there at 6:45am). Luckily, Lily's old babysitter, Katherine, was able to come over and watch Ryan for us, so both Mark and I got to be there with her that morning. We spent about an hour in the pre-op area where Lily got changed into a kid-sized, super soft hospital gown and the nurses, doctor and anesthesiologist came and talked to us beforehand. Then a nurse brought her back to the procedure room while we went to the waiting room. Luckily we were only out there for about 20 minutes before they came to take us back to Lily. Even though Lily finished a round of antibiotics less than a week earlier, the doctor said her ears were still completely filled, so it was definitely a good decision to have the tubes put in. The hardest part of the whole morning was seeing her after the surgery - she was crying and confused from coming out of the anesthesia :( After about 10 minutes of cuddling she was ready to eat some cereal and drink some juice, and as soon as we walked outside the building she was back to her normal self. It's amazing how quick the recovery is and how resilient kids are at this age! We're so glad that she'll be able to recover her hearing loss (from the fluid in her ears) and stay healthy moving forward.


We leave for Rochester on Thursday morning and we're looking forward to seeing friends and family while we're there! We should have some great pictures of Lily and Ryan with all of their cousins when we get back :) In the meantime, we're going to enjoy the long weekend and Mark's short work week. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!!

Videos

Here are a few videos for your viewing pleasure :) The one of Lily in the tub is a few months old, but it is one of my all-time favorites!

Ryan had his 2 week well baby visit last week, and he is doing great. As of last Tuesday, he was 10 lbs even and 21 1/2 inches long! So obviously he is eating well and doing a great job of growing :) He doesn't go back until he hits the 2 month mark, so he will have his visit when Lily has her 2 year appointment in July. That should be an interesting afternoon!

As some of you know, poor Lily has been sick with colds, allergies and ear infections for the last several months. The ear infections have not fully cleared up since they started in late January (she is finishing up yet another round of antibiotics this week), so we started seeing an ear, nose and throat specialist about a month ago. After the last visit, the doc recommended that Lily get tubes in her ears to help with the drainage and cut down on the infections because they are starting to affect her hearing. (They say it's a lot like hearing things under water, which is important at this age because she is working on developing speech, etc.) She will be going in a week from today to get that taken care of. It's a relatively quick procedure and takes about 15 minutes to complete. The recovery period is also quick, and she'll be herself again after only a few hours. Unfortunately she has to go under for the surgery which is kind of scary, but Mark and I are both relieved that this will help her stay healthy and relieve a lot of the pain and discomfort she's had over the last 5 months.

Other than that, we have a busy couple of weeks coming up! My brother and his girlfriend will be visiting us for the next few days, and we'll be flying home to Rochester with both kids during the first week in June. This will be the first time we've been home in a year and a half, and we're looking forward to seeing everyone while we're there. Mark's sister Melissa will be there with her two boys (Connor is just 2 weeks older than Ryan!), my grandparents are coming into town, and we'll be doing Ryan's christening while we're there as well! It'll be a busy trip, but one we're really excited to make! (We'll see if we're still saying that after flying with both kids!!!)


If you're happy and you know it!


first bath in the hospital


playing with keys


tummy time

Ryan is here!

Our little man has arrived! Ryan was born on Tuesday, April 27th at 6:08pm. He was 8 lbs. 13 oz. (not so little!) and was 19.5 inches long. He has light brown hair and dark blue eyes - we think he might look a little more like me rather than a mini-Mark clone (Lily!), but I guess we'll see!

Ryan's arrival was very different than Lily's - we went to the hospital for a planned "induction" (the doc just broke my water to jumpstart labor) since my doctors were afraid I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. My labor was just as quick (about 3 hours), but I got to have an epidural this time, which was great! Ryan is a sweet, snuggly boy and we are enjoying him. Lily has been an awesome big sister and just loves Ryan to pieces! She wants to kiss and pet him all the time and when he cries, she is always right there to comfort him. We are adjusting to life with two kids (and getting a whole lot less sleep!), but things are pretty good so far. I promise I will post more in the coming weeks while I am home, once Ryan and I get into more of a routine.

Here are some long overdue pictures!

39 weeks & 3 days - right before we left for the hospital

this was the first time they met!

Easter