They came, they saw, they went

The parents were here to see us for two weeks and they're already gone. I was really glad for the help with night time feedings for Timothy and for help during the day with a Ryan who is always on the move.

We did lots for Ryan while my parents were here.

We went to the children's museum in Portland where Ryan loved this water activity. He left with rather wet clothing.

We went to the zoo and Ryan was thrilled to see all the animals again. He enjoyed feeding ducks and chasing a turtle.

Ryan went swimming in the hotel pool with a swimsuit on (this was a challenge since he was convinced the pool was the same as a bath).

True to my Bahamian roots, we did lots of shopping and of course visited L.L. Bean.

My favorite part of this trip was discovering a Jamaican take-out place in York. I can't wait to go back to have more food which reminds me of home.

I also noticed my parents took all the photos of Timothy and I have none to post. I'll work on that this week!

Alphabet soup

Adam scored above average on his National Contact Lense Exam (NCLE)! We joked that if he actually got this certification that Adam Alphabet Soup woud be his official title (the real one is Adam ABOC, CPOC, NCLC... see what we mean?). I am really proud of him. He worked hard for all of these certifications, but the NCLE was probably the hardest of the three and possibly the reason he left it for last.

In other news... mastitis is better. Ryan is better! The family is here and we're having lots of fun.

An embarrassing moment for this mother: In Olive Garden when I ask Ryan what his belly button was called he grabbed his crotch and said, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "penis."

Timothy is growing. I will post photos at some point.

Mastitis...

is a pain in the boob... literally. I really hoped that what I felt yesterday wasn't mastitis. I felt awful. I wondered if i had the flu. I knew better, though, I was almost certain I had mastitis. I had a clogged duct with Ryan and this was worse. Since my parents are here, I got to rest the entire day -- yay!

We went to the doctor today. She confirmed that I have mastitis. I wish it weren't so. But, at least my parents are here and can help out when I just need to rest.

Now there are two of us on antibiotics trying to feel normal again.

Scarlet

Miss Scarlet in the billiard room with the wrench. Well, that's one possiblitiy. However, it's Ryan in the doctor's office with scarlet fever. Sigh. I'm still not sure how this happened, but it has happened. On Sunday night Adam noticed a rash on Ryan while giving him a bath. We thought maybe it was from sunblock and an afternoon spent in the sun. The next day I noticed the rash, but thought the same thing as Adam. But on Monday evening the rash looked like it could be measles, but Ryan had no fever. We decided we'd see if the doctor could see him at the same time as Tim's first well baby check up. And so it was decided yesterday afternoon that little man has scarlet fever and should take some antibiotics to get rid of it. The doc thinks Tim should be okay, but if he gets a fever, we're to bring him in right away.

So it was Timothy's well baby check up yesterday and he is a nice even 9 lbs now. Like Ryan, Timothy will have to go for blood work on his thyroid. I'm waiting to do that with my parents who will be here next week. I did Ryan's first blood test on my own and it was the worst idea a lady who has just had a baby could have. After they poked him for almost two hours before finally drawing the blood, I was a mess. We won't risk that this time. My parents went with me for Ryan's second blood work event and it went so much better. Basically, the doc just wants to make sure the meds I was taking during pregnancy (which were completly safe -- and if i hadn't taken them there is a chance I could have miscarried or had Timothy even earlier than I did) didn't do anything to Timothy's thyroid.

So far the early weeks of having a new baby are going better this time around. I, of course, have my meltdowns, but overall I'm feeling much better since delivering Timothy than I did when I delivered Ryan. My nights have been a bit difficult this week since Adam is working really long days because it's inventory tomorrow. He gets up at 5:30 and comes home at 9. He's exhausted and I can't even wake him up in the middle of the night so I've been doing feedings etc alone. I'm exhausted by the end of the day and can't wait for bedtime, which seems to be coming later and later. I'm looking forward to naptime today that won't be ruined by a trip to the doctor (Ry napped in the car yesterday and that meant I got no sleep).

In other news... Adam and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this past Sunday. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the Steakhouse. The food was great, the service lousy, but we were glad to have some time without the kids. Then we took a walk on the beach. Below are two of the photos from our walk.

Zoo Photos

Here are some photos from our trip to the zoo on Thursday.

This was a family of ducks we discovered. The ducklings were very friendly... mostly they wanted us to feed them.

Adam and Ryan look at the ducks.

There's an enclosed area where you can walk with the deer. I went in first and then Adam and Ryan had their turn. It was rather weird to be so close to a deer.

Some of the deer walk right up to you and look for food in your hands.

Here are the prairie dogs. They were really cute.

This is my favorite photo of the many we took at the zoo.

Post Script

The above title will deal with the first part of this post. We watched the movie P.S. I love you this week. I give it two thumbs up, five stars, and believe it belongs in our collection. However, if you plan to rent it, you may want to keep a box of tissues with you while you watch. The movie was a great reminder that time is precious with the ones you love.

In other news... Timothy is growing. We have days where he feeds great and days where we keep reminding ourselves that he was early and this feeding thing is harder for him than other newborns. He still sleeps A LOT, but with a near term baby, that's to be expected. He has more periods where he opens his eyes and takes in what he can, but it's different for him than it was for Ryan. We still try latching on, but we're pretty sure we're just going to pump ye olde breastmilk and give Timothy a bottle. I feel no guilt this time around. I felt horrible that it didn't work out for Ryan to breastfeed. I beat myself up about it, but this time I know that whether I pump for three months like I did for Ryan or if I make it through a whole year, I'm doing my best.

Ryan has been a great big brother and loves to help out. He thinks he should get milk everytime Timothy does. He loves kissing his brother and touching his hair. He's been very gentle so far.

I'm feeling much better emotionally and physically this go around with pregnancy. I think emotionally it's been a huge boost to have Adam at home. He's had to go into work each week for a few hours, but those times away have given me a chance for a trial run with two kids. We've managed to play outside without him and haven't had any major problems. We haven't, however, managed to put Ryan down successfully for a nap when he's been gone. That will take some more work.

Physically, my stitches have healed wonderfully. I know they won't be fully healed for a few more weeks, but in comparison to last time, I'm feeling a million times better. My last stitches were awful and it took well beyond the six week mark to feel somewhat normal again. I think we were in the six month region when I felt like myself again. That in and of itself makes this time easier on my emotions. Plus there haven't been any horrible blood tests for Timothy yet. We're hoping we can skip them, but I'm sure we'll still have to do some sort of check on his thyroid since I was taking medicine for mine during the entire pregnancy.

Next week Adam goes back to work and I have a week with the kids on my own before my parents arrive on the 14th. Anyone in Maine who wants to hang out is more than welcome. I have a few plans for my sanity, but I welcome visitors, too.

We've managed to do some fun things as a family also. Today we are supposed to go to York Wild Animal Kingdom, but it's been overcast and while they aren't calling for rain I'd hate to get there and not see all of the animals.