Owen earned “well baby” status during his first visit to the pediatrician today. No worries at all from the doctor. Owen checked in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces (up from his birth weight of 7 pounds, 13 ounces).
He’s such a good, calm baby – at least most of the time. Last night, for example, he slept for five straight hours, then ate, and then slept for another four hours! Amazing, especially considering the trouble we had with him on Saturday night. That evening, I brought Owen up for a feeding around 10:30 p.m. … and he did not go to sleep until 4:30 a.m.! Sarah and I were up the entire time, watching really bad TV between handling Owen. (“Roseanne” marathon on TV Land, anybody? I didn’t think so.) Talk about being tired the next day, after we arose from bed around 8 a.m. to take on the day? Tired, tired, tired.
If we get more of last night, we should be in good shape. Generally, he’s off to a good start. “Well baby” indeed.
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Oliver’s second birthday
I can’t believe our little baby is 2 years old. Yes, Oliver today celebrated the big 2; his second birthday. We had a fun little party – just family, but still more than 20 people packed into our house. Oliver had a blast, and he enjoyed being the center of attention.
He got a lot of great gifts. This is the pretty rad Schwinn trike that Sarah and I bought for him:
Here’s one of the first family photos of the new group of four – too bad Oliver was more interested in being put down so he could run up the hill and throw sticks into the woods:
Here’s Oliver opening a present. He didn’t need any help getting the wrapping paper off, though mom had to read the cards and dad or his grandpa Rodney had to cut the toys loose from the packaging:
His favorite thing right now is Thomas & Friends, and he got a bunch of wood tracks to play with. We’ve since built a pretty elaborate track, but we set up a simple one at first because he was so anxious to play with it. Here he is, taking Thomas for a loop around the track with his grandpa Neal:
He also got a pretty cool Little Tikes basketball hoop from his uncle Aaron and aunt Shima. Here he is dunking, with assistance from Aaron:
Last night, we practiced blowing out candles so that his big moment today would be a success. Well, he now knows what to do but just doesn’t great a big enough jet stream to get the fire out, so Sarah and I had to help a bit:
We didn’t, however, have to help him eat the cake:
We had so much fun today, and he was beyond tired after the guests all headed home. His aunt Carrie and her boyfriend Eli enjoyed the visit, too, as seen in this picture:
So that’s it. Our boy is now 2. Crazy. He’s on his way to being a young man, I’m sure, before we even know it!
A few random pictures from the hospital
Here are a few random pictures taken during the last two days of our hospital stay. Enjoy:
Not sure who was more excited, the brother or the dog
Yesterday, I wrote about Owen’s first night at home. His first moments at home were pretty special, too. I’m not sure who was more curious and excited about our newest family member, brother Oliver or dog Molly:
Owen’s first night at home
We arrived home from the hospital yesterday around 12:30 p.m. However, it seems like we’ve been here longer than that. I mean, it’s been a long, long, LONG first full day at home for Owen and his family.
As those of you with kids know, sleep issues are tough to deal with. For those who don’t know these things, let me just give you a quick rundown of our night:
- Owen was fed around 9 p.m. and Sarah and I went to bed.
- Owen was ready to eat again at 11 p.m. – he did, but then fussed until around 1 a.m., when we finally were able to sleep
- Owen woke up at 1:45 a.m. ready to eat again; afterward he tinkled on his clothes so he had to be changed
- Etc., etc., etc. …. until we finally got up for the day
Oliver really has warmed to Owen over the past couple days. And Molly, our crazy goldendoodle, is really curious and has been in the baby’s face off and on all day. If I have time later, I’ll put up a couple pictures of the boys and the dog.
That’s about it for now. Thanks to a two-hour nap this afternoon and some ibuprofen before dinner, I feel a little less groggy. Who knows what tonight will bring … hopefully just a bit more sleep.
Owen’s second day – curious about the big world out there
We got a lot of alone time today with Owen, which was special. We also were visited by his great-grandma Frieda, great-grandpa Gil and his sister Anna, my parents, his grandma Annette and her sister, and, of course, his big brother Oliver.
But what I’ll remember most about Owen’s second day is the way he opens his eyes wide and just looks around at everything. He appears so curious about the big world out there. He’s been (**knock on wood**) very quiet. He makes little, whimpy cries when he’s hungry, but otherwise he just lays there, eyes darting around the room and soaking in his environment. Wonder what he’s thinking about …
A bit more about Owen August’s first day; plus Oliver meets his little brother
Owen August’s first day has been a good one. He came into this world crying, but has been pretty quiet since. He picked up feeding right away, and has been doing well all day. In terms of measurements, he’s 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and his length is 20.5 inches. Here’s a little bit more about our day:
We checked in at about 5:50 a.m., and were prepped fur surgery. The delivery was quick and easy (but it was surgery, so not THAT easy – just relatively so). Afterward, we headed to the recovery area for about an hour. Both sets of grandparents arrived around 9 a.m., so we brought them into the room in pairs (only two guests at a time). First, the grandmas, then the grandpas. Those were really sweet moments.
Next, Owen was whisked to another area of the hospital for measurements. After we settled into our permanent room, I took the grandparents and Oliver down to the cafeteria for lunch. It was only 11 a.m., but I was STARVING! When we came up, we let Oliver into the room to meet his little brother. Tired and ready for a nap, Oliver wasn’t too interested. He just stared at Owen, as seen in one of the first pictures of their encounter here:
And here:
Eventually, we negotiated with Oliver. “Give him a kiss and we can go and you can take a nap.” He complied:
Then he grabbed my mom’s hand to leave. Everyone was gone by 1 p.m. We had a quiet afternoon, napping, bonding with Owen, talking to nurses and watching U.S.A. destroy Finland by a score of 6-1 in the Winter Olympics quarterfinal game.
Sarah’s Aunt Kay arrived around 5 p.m. and stayed for an hour. After that, I grabbed lunch, we bonded more with Owen and now we’re just waiting another 90 minutes until his next feeding. In fact, as I type this, Sarah and Oliver are both sleeping. They both look so innocent.
Sarah is feeling – and appears – much better after this surgery than she did two years ago after the emergency delivery of Oliver. She just ate some Cheerios, which was significant as it was the first solid food she was allowed to eat since last night. She’s been such a proud, sweet mom today:
We hope to be in bed by about 10 p.m., and we have a busy day on Saturday with lots of guests stopping by. Should be fun.
Introducing: Owen August Lopinot
Owen August Lopinot arrived at 8:01 a.m. this morning. Mom and baby are doing fine. He came in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces. I’ll have more about this later, but for now, some pictures:
Three hours to go
It’s 4:30 a.m. The alarm just went off, and Sarah’s in the shower. I’m going to grab a quick breakfast and then we’re out the door and on the way to the hospital. We actually slept pretty well last night – just not long enough! Getting up this early will do that to a person.
The baby arrives in about three hours. The next time you hear from me, there will be four in the family. Wish us well!
This is it …
This is it … the baby arrives tomorrow morning. Bright and early. Like 5:45 a.m. check-in early. We’re both full of nervous excitement. Last night, I was awake for about three hours in the middle of the night, just thinking about the baby to come. I’m sure tonight will be just as tough.
We still haven’t settled on a name. Sarah and I plan to discuss it tonight, and hopefully come to a conclusion.
My parents are at the house, and they’ll be watching Oliver for the next few days. The end of this pregnancy is so much different than the first one. This time, we know the storm that’s coming. However, just like last time, there really is no way to prepare for it.
That’s about it for now. I’ll post updates as I can. Wish us luck!
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