The new arrangement

We seem to be adjusting to the new arrangements around our house. We've even been brave enough to venture out with both kids. John had last Wednesday off for Veterans' Day so we loaded up and went to the QC to check out the mall and the other retail offerings there. We knew not to be gone long. Andrew didn't do so hot for our first 30-40 minutes at the mall but was great on a full stomach for our trip through Target and drive home.


Jeremiah had his 3 year check up on Thursday. He weighed 35 lbs and was 3 ft. 2 inches tall! His weight is 80th percentile and his height is 50th. John took a few hours from work to go with me for this too, as I'm not sure I could have managed to keep both of them happy. Jeremiah had to get his seasonal flu shot, which he is still talking about. I don't think he'll be thrilled when we tell him he has to go back to the health department for an H1N1 booster.


Andrew is having some gas issues. We've reduced ourselves to making him a Mylicon addict, which is more pleasant for him. When he does get relief he passes gas with the best of them! He has been kind enough to give us a few nights of 3-4 hour stretches between feedings. Those nights are much more pleasant than when he wakes up every 2 hours.

Brothers!

Andrew decked out for the Illini game at one week old!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

We celebrated Jeremiah's 3rd birthday on Sunday. It was great to have some of John's family with us for a nice brunch followed by gifts and a chocolate cupcake! After nap, Mommy, Daddy and our boys went to the park. It likely isn't very often that a November 8 birthday boy gets to go to the park with a light coat on his birthday.
Here are a few shots of the fun.

Opening his first gift of the day. It was a pair of shoes that he then wore to church.

Making cupcakes

The traditional Mickey Mouse pancake. Daddy even added eyes, ears and a mouth.






Modeling his duck slippers, a gift from Aunt Ann

Smiling big with his birthday candle.

Andrew's Birth Story

Here's the full detailed explanation of Andrew's arrival.

At approximately 2 p.m. on Friday, October 30, I felt my first contraction. Granted, I had been having irregular occasional contractions for several weeks so it didn’t faze me too much. I was at the town coffee shoppe because our internet was down at home. However, I couldn’t get my computer to work with their internet either. I guess God had other plans besides work for me that afternoon. I dropped in to see John and realized that I had 2 more contractions in that time. They were 15-20 minutes apart. I let him know that I had suspicions but wanted to wait for more regularity to confirm.
I headed home and had a few contractions that stopped me in my tracks. Yes, this was indeed the real deal. I called John and asked him to come home when he could. I wrapped up a few things for work, called my mom to begin her drive to Tipton, and tried to sit and relax. John let the sitter know that Jeremiah would be picked up late by Maama S.
By 4:30, my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart. John called Labor and Delivery and we were given the green light to come on in. I was certainly no brave soul upon arrival, graciously accepting the wheel chair for the ride up to the 6th floor. They settled us in to the room and hooked me up to all the necessary monitors. Things progressed rather quickly. I requested my epidural at around 8:00 p.m. and I was fully dilated by 10:30ish. It was close to 11:30 when I began to feel pressure and the urge to push so we started in on that exercise. The doctor’s explained that since my body had not done that part before it could take longer than the speedy dilation. I gave it my best (3 hours of my best) but at 2:30 the doctor asked if we wanted to keep pushing for another 30 minutes or opt for the c-section. I was, to say the least, disappointed that we couldn’t make the VBAC work but it was time to be realistic and prioritize our baby. With concerns about the baby’s position, (one nurse guessing he was sunny side up) we opted for getting ready for surgery. After all the necessary preparations for the c-section, we were in surgery by about 3:30 and welcomed Andrew Jesse at 4:02 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, what would have been his great-uncle Mark’s birthday. The doctor's noted that there was some thin places that may have been dangerous is we continued to push so we probably made the best decision. Daddy got to cut his cord off and then they took him to the nursery while they put me back together. We met him again in recovery, where he enjoyed his first eats, just a couple hours later.

Welcome Andrew Jesse!

We welcomed Andrew Jesse Todd to the family on Saturday, October 31 at 4:02 a.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 14.5 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. He has quite a bit of hair and looks alot like his big brother. Mom went in to labor on Friday around 2 p.m. and we had hoped to welcome him before midnight but he had other plans! After several hours of pushing, he was coaxed in to this world by c-section early Saturday morning. Big Brother Jeremiah's first reaction was that he wanted a girl, but he seems to be warming to the fact that he has a great new little brother. We came home from the hospital today. Here is a sampling of the first few days of Andrew's life.

First bath at home with help from big brother!

Ready for the ride home!


Going home outfit


Bright eyed!

Jeremiah got a big brother gift.


Brothers meet for the first time.

His pumpkin hat from the hospital volunteers.

Our newest addition, just a couple hours old.