once again, it's been far too long between posts. i blame the events of the last year and a half... once remi was gone, i lost all desire to even touch my camera, and blogging was out of the question. i need to get back into the habit of both again! you know, with all my extra time and stuff (haha!).
so... onto the the newest happenings: the arrival of max! he was fashionably late (the midwife charted me at 41 weeks +1 day, but i think i was closer to 43 weeks, maybe more) and after weeks of early labor with NO progress, another instance of polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) and a little boy that refused to drop down far enough to facilitate progressive labor, my amazing midwives felt that the safest route would be a repeat cesarean. they worked hard to support a vbac... something i REALLY wanted, badly... but in the end, it was another surgery.
max was born at 8:02 am on june 18th, weighing 8 lbs, 14 oz and measuring 20". he came out squalling, perfect in every way, apgar scores were 9 and 9. his hair is thicker than the other kids' were, and black instead of dark, dark brown. he has the infamous pheifer nose, never developed even the smallest touch of jaundice, is a great eater and at two weeks, is strong and alert. he even spent a few minutes cooing in his bassinett the other day!
("where the wild things are" onesie, courtesy of auntie elissa! it's sort of a theme, being that his name is the same as the main character's)
the kiddos have adjusted exceptionally well to max, in my opinion. remi is a little more sensitive these days, but at his age, that's quite normal and to be expected. lots of changes in the last two weeks, plus he's still figuring out his new place in the family- we can cut him some slack! still, he is quick with kisses for his baby brother, exclaims "oh, no!!" when max starts fussing, and refers to him as "MY bebe-ya". (he adds a "ya" to the ending of many of his words... it's kind of his trademark!). cole and madi are old enough that they can engage themselves in other activities independently, and cole especially, i think, remembers a little bit from when remi was born and understands that babies require a LOT of care and attention. madi has begun to show a little maternal instinct, voluntarily playing with her babies more than normal. kelvin was off for two weeks, which was great since recovery is a little slower with a cesarean (as anyone who's had one knows!)... and since painkillers make me sick, even motrin cramps up my stomach, it takes me a little longer to start moving around. and of course, since surgery involves a catheter, i developed the inevitable uti. nothing some cranberry and probiotic couldn't help. i won't lie- the day it peaked was miserable. i couldn't move without crying. but within 24 hours, things were drastically improved. so much so that i took cole, madi and max to story hour in waupaca with my mom. in hindsight, that was probably overdoing it some, but the kids had a ball and i was bored to death anyway.
(already sassy!)
max's first major outing was to one of the parks in the valley- last week thursday, we met some very special friends for a few hours. the last time i saw jennifer was early in the morning on the day we got to come home from arkansas- that was 6 months ago. far too long between visits, says i, but that makes the visits even more special. the kids got to play together in the park, max snoozed on a blanket in the shade, we had a wonderful chat, then had to part ways after a quick stop for ice cream.
anyway... i have to upload photos to share; it's on my list of things to do! i realize this post is sort of disjointed, but in my defense, there's lack of sleep, a fussing baby (it's feeding time!), and some wound-up kids distracting me. ah, the life of a mommy... wouldn't trade it for anything!
(two weeks old today!)
