Way to go!

After 2 1/2 days in the NICU, Carter and mommy went home from the hospital today! Yesterday we got a report in the early morning that he had been weaned to 25% oxygen and by lunch I got calls that he was off of the oxygen and that his parents and grandparents had been able to hold him. It sure was a proud Nana and Grandpa when they called! He continued to do well through the day and night. After showing his true colors and eating like a champ, he was able to go home at the same time as his mom! We are very thankful that everything turned out like it did and hope he continues to do well.

We probably will not go to Greenville this weekend unless we go just for the day on Sunday. Caleb has encountered his first stomach virus we think. Last night he started vomiting and he easily could have had the staring role in the next Exorcist movie! It was absolutely horrible. After sleeping in the pack and play in our room, we thought he was in the clear but decided to resume the same this morning. It has been a tiresome day with lots of clothes to wash. We are trying to make sure no one else gets sick. Here's hoping you and your family stay well. (They are saying that the peak of flu season may still be a week or so away!)

Welcome Baby Carter!

Austin and Caleb would like to announce the arrival of their new cousin Carter! After only 4 1/2 hours of labor my sister Amy gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Weston "Carter" Phelps. He weighs 6 pounds 14 ounces and is 19 3/4 inches long. Mom is doing well but Carter has decided to buck the system from the beginning. He is in the NICU at the hospital in Greenville due to some breathing difficulties. At last report tonight, he is doing well. He is on oxygen and is slightly sedated due to wanting to fight a little too much. They believe that he may have had some meconium aspiration (inhaled some of his own poop) and they are watching him closely. We have not been able to see him just yet (Austin, Caleb and I made a quick trip to Greenville this afternoon), but from the pictures we have seen, he has a head full of black hair and is quite the little screamer in the video. Please keep baby Carter and his mom and dad in your prayers. We will get pictures as soon as we can visit again and will post again with any changes.

It's been a while!

So things have gotten somewhat crazy around our house and the blog has been on the back burner. Having 2 rugrats just seems to consume every hour of the day (and night to be exact)! Once we get home at night it seems the time flies by. Since last time, there was another snow. That's right! 2 times in one year! This time things went a little more smoothly around the area and daycare wasn't even closed. Austin enjoyed seeing the snow again even though he did not get much playtime. Things with mom and dad still consist of all work and very little play unless of course one of the boys does something fun and we tag along!

Austin is continuing to be a blossoming 4 year old. Take that as you want to! He is learning to talk back and thinks he knows everything. We had our teacher conference at school and he is doing well. He has mastered all of the skills for the young 4 year old and is ready for Pre-K next year. His teacher claims that he is an angel on most days. I think we need her or some of these other people to come live with us and rub off on his behavior at home. He is very over protective of Caleb and does not want to leave him anywhere by himself. Usually he is good at helping to look out for the baby but has his moments there as well. We have signed him up for T-ball and that will start next month. Maybe that will release some pent up energy. He has enjoyed practicing with dad in the yard. Last weekend, he and dad went to a hockey game with some of our neighbors. He had a blast. It does not matter what sport it is, he will generally pay attention. It has become slightly annoying to dad though since Austin is constantly wanting to know the score, who is winning, who is losing, why the guy is falling down, etc. It is constant questioning the entire time he is watching. This has also caused him to become somewhat of a sports geek! He knows the names and numbers of all of the Carolina basketball players and knows the other teams by their mascot or school logo. He also gets a kick out of upsetting dad by claiming he is pulling for a team that he knows he is not supposed to like!!!

Caleb is growing right before our eyes. He is stilling giving us challenges with eating. He has days when he does not want to eat for daycare but definitely makes up for it when he gets home and has mommy time. He will take a bottle great for me but still does not really like cereal from a spoon. He has taken some peas and carrots but is temperamental. He also is not sleeping through the night yet. We have our fingers crossed and just know that one night he will surprise us! We are in the process of introducing formula and already have had to change due to what we perceive as fussiness possibly from the formula or its effects on his reflux. He had to go to the doctor last week due to not eating and questionable wheezing and weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds 10 ounces. I guess he is nutritionally sound despite the issues! He will now roll over if he is not feeling too lazy, likes being on his tummy, and tries to sit by himself. He will also give a good belly laugh every once in awhile. We got a new infant swing for the swingset and he enjoyed that on Sunday. He was actually content for more than 10 minutes in one place!

Well, I guess that is all that has been going on really. The frantic pace of daily life is enough to keep us occupied. We are looking forward to the summer and warmer days ahead.

Let it snow!

Today was one for the record books! We ended up with at least 6 inches of snow but in the "low" place on the back deck, it was 8 inches. It started before 1 AM (that is what time the first boy woke up in the middle of the night). By 3 AM, after making sure the oldest one was back to sleep and feeding the younger one, it was coming down hard. At 6AM, when we decided no one was going anywhere, you could barely see the street lights. That kept up until about 1PM. It has not snowed constantly like that here in a long time.

Of course, every kid in the neighborhood was outside. Austin and dad were right there with them. We have several houses with hills in the front yard so sledding was quite an adventure. Caleb did not have as much fun. Despite being totally bundled up and having his hat over his eyes most of the time, he slept! He only woke up to tell us it was time to come in and eat.

The past few weeks have been interesting. Going back to work was not as bad as it could have been. We definitely strive off of our routine. Trying to get Caleb into that routine was fairly easy. Eating is the only varying activity each morning. Caleb is also doing well at daycare. He has started taking the full bottle and is starting to have a napping schedule. Sometimes we get to sleep through the night but 3:45 seems to be the magic time. I don't know how to make him sleep through that feeding. Sometimes (maybe 3 times a week), he will sleep until about 5:15. I will not complain at all though because this is much better than what Austin was doing at 3 months. I should also mention that he went to the doctor for a quick visit yesterday and with a dry diaper and thin outfit on, weighed in at 14 pounds 9 ounces. What do you do with a chunky monkey? It is getting hard to clean between the creases in his thighs at bath time! We will take what we have been given and be thankful. Everyone loves a fat baby, right?

Here's hoping you all can stay warm and safe if your weather is like ours. Until next time .....

Happy 2009!

Another holiday season has come and gone! We had an eventful time visiting family and enjoying our time just the 4 of us. Santa brought way too much stuff. The look on Austin's face was priceless though. We had told him to call out to us instead of just coming downstairs like he sometimes does. Shane went up to get him and immediately he saw a Dora at the Dentist book. (This kid is obsessed with being a dentist!) He came running down and it did not take long for him to discover the many other gifts waiting. He also racked up at the Grandparents house. He has enjoyed his GeoTracks additions and especially his Pirate football outfit. He began jumping up and down when unwrapping the helmet. After seeing that it was an entire outfit, yes including pads and chin strap, he and dad set out to dress up. His entrance would not have been complete without his very excited dad announcing, "Here come the Pirates!" As you are probably imagining, he ran out with his helmet in place and expected everyone to clap along. There has not been a day yet when he has not put on that outfit when he comes home. He also has a special place on his headboard for the helmet at night.

Caleb's Christmas was of course a lot less impressive. He pretty much slept all day long! There were some presents but what does he really need besides diapers and wipes at this point. Watching Austin open his presents for him was the highlight of his day.

It is amazing seeing how fast each of the boys change. Austin is definitely being a 4 year old. He has an independence problem and thinks he can do anything he wants (by himself of course)! He is getting a little attitude and spends some quality time in his room almost daily. Caleb is now smiling and laughing at times. He is at the stage where he is very aware of what is going on around him and wants so desperately to be a part of it all. He likes to sit in the Bumbo seat for about 10 minutes at a stretch. He has such great head control that we will let him try to sit there for a short time each day. He weighed in at a whopping 12 pounds 9 ounces 1 week before Christmas. Yes, that is the 75th percentile! He is almost 23 inches long. We are in the process of weeding out the 0-3 month clothes and going up to 3-6 months. I guess that is good since he is 11 weeks today.

Monday is the first day back at work. I am ready in some ways but not in others. I totally trust the place Caleb is going to and have no worries about him. He had a 3 hour stay on Wednesday and did great. He has no trouble taking the bottle for them! I also know that I need some adult interaction throughout the day and that my patients need me. I am not looking forward to the stress and trying to juggling the nightly routine of dinner, baths, bedtime and then bottle making. I guess I will get back into the hang of it soon enough.

You will notice that I have changed the look of our blog just a bit. I have been looking at others and realized we were "plain!" I have also added several links to others on the right side. The two families there now have extensive blogs. They were both blessed with babies around the time Caleb was born. They, unlike us, were not fortunate enough to have good health on their side. I wanted to include their names here and encourage everyone to keep them and those not as fortunate as we all are in their thoughts and prayers. Both babies are doing great now, but it has been and will continue to be a long road for them both. As we wrap up a wonderful holiday season, I think it is only fitting to be thankful for what we have! Until next time.........

Getting ready for the holidays

So it has been a while since our last posting. Caleb will be 8 weeks this Friday. Where has all of the time gone? In between changing diapers and nursing every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, there are days when a shower seems like a luxury. We are actually sleeping rather well most nights. This means usually a stretch of 5-6 hours. If he eats at 11pm then this makes for a great night. If he last eats at 9 or 9:30 then we could have several wakings every 2 hours before we see the sun. The days go pretty smoothly but without much productivity at times!

The pictures up top are of the boys at one month. Everyone keeps saying how much alike they look. Now that Caleb has filled out in the face some they are even more alike. The one on the left is Austin and the one on the right is Caleb. We did not put up Caleb's first picture from the hospital. Here is a link to the web nursery but you cannot add coments or anything from this part of the site. http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=d962a6b5-baab-4d66-93c3-3e76a08389ef

Austin continues to do well. He has become more concerned with feeding the baby and has made several attempts while our backs are turned (shirt up and all!). He can't wait for there to be more bottles so he can have a turn. His excitement over Christmas is building. If he sticks to his word, we are supposed to be able to have a picture with Santa this year. Of course, he has made sure Caleb will be there too! We had some "big boy time" on Sunday and went to ride the train with some of our friends. He had a great time riding and seeing Santa and Frosty. At the end, he admitted that he was ready to come home and see the baby. He has enjoyed ECU Football again this year. He has also gone to a UNC Football and basketball game already.

Caleb is becoming his own little person. He has started smiling and "laughing." He weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces at his last check up but that was about 3 weeks ago. He will go back next week and will probably come away with some shots. I would not be surprised if he was 11 or 11 1/2 pounds by now. He is becoming heavy. He definitely loves his big brother. Sometimes just having Austin beside him calms him right down.

Thanksgiving was very low key. We visited both of our families and went to the ECU game. Christmas will be much of the same. Until next time, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe travels.

Settling In

We are a week and a half into our new adventure. Things are actually going really well. Caleb is sleeping well. Last night we slept for about 4 hours at a stretch. He is an eating, peeing and pooping machine. We are keeping the diaper company in business right now! Everyday he is a little more alert and is staying awake for longer periods of time. Every now and then you will catch a smile (which I am sure is just a little gas!) but it makes it all worth while. Last week we went for a test on his kidneys and everything has checked out fine.

Austin is taking things very well. He is very proud of his new brother and will show him off to anyone. We went to his Halloween festival at school on Friday night and he had just as much fun showing the baby to everyone as he did playing the games. He enjoys holding him and talking to him. He was very proud to help with his first bath. He is also very fast to find out who or what is making the baby sad when he cries.

We will try to keep things up to date as much as possible. Some things just tend to go on the back burner when there is another mouth to feed and poopy diapers to be changed. Until next time...