Time outs

The last 2 days when I've picked up Nolan from daycare I've had to hear about him being put in time outs for not listening to Jane. Nolan has become quite interested in climbing on everything, and apparantely he's taken quite a liking to climbing on the table in the playroom. Today he got a warning first, as Jane caught him climbing on it. As soon as he saw her, he got down. Jane told him he can not climb on the table, because if he does he will fall and she'll have to call an ambulance because he'll get hurt. Clearly he didn't understand her, because she caught him doing it for the 2nd time. She put him in a timeout, which he reacted to much differently than when I put him in a timeout (he cries at Jane's house). The timeout didn't work either, because the 3rd time she watched him from around the corner, and he made a beeline for the table and started to climb on it. As soon as he saw her come around the corner he knew he had been caught and he tried to get down as quickly as possible. But, he ended up in another timeout. Jane is confident that he'll learn not to climb on the table in the next few weeks if she keeps using the same technique. I hope she's right, for her sake! I had to put Nolan in 2 timeouts yesterday for standing on the couch. He pouts while in the timeout, but I get no other reaction. Next time I'm going to make him stand in the timeout spot vs. sit and see what happens. The first kid is always a trial and error!

Kale is starting to fill out, primarily in his face (just like Nolan did!). He's still eating really well, and has finally gotten on a regular poo schedule. Last night we had quite the fiasco as Adam changed his diaper. When Adam opened up Kale's diaper, the insides of it seemed to magically appear on everything, including Adam and Kale! To top it off, Kale decided at that moment to pee on us for the first time. Immediately after that both boys got a bath!


Last Sunday Adam and I took the boys to the apple orchard. It was gorgeous outside, and I knew that if we didn't go we might not get another nice weekend day to go. It also gave us a chance to test out the new double stroller that Adam's parent's picked up for us at a garage sale. It's a little big and bulky (all double strollers are), but sure works well for hauling around both boys! Kale slept through most of our visit, which was good. Nolan had a blast looking at the animals, being pushed in the stroller, eating apples with Adam and waving at the hayrides as they drove by. Nolan is definitely getting quicker, because at one point we turned our heads for just a second, and when we looked back Nolan had picked an apple off the ground and was going to take a bite out of it. That's all fine and good, except the apple already had a bite taken out of it! The was another couple watching him do this behind us, and they thought it was pretty funny. The only thing we can hope for is that it will help build his immunity!

Adam and I are doing well, but are lacking a little sleep. I'm also fighting a cough/cold, which is slowing me down a little more than normal. It could be worse - we both remember what Nolan was like as a baby. He didn't start sleeping well until about 8 weeks! Kale is on the right path, but is still getting up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. He doesn't cry very often, and when he does it usually means he needs a diaper change or is hungry. He's doing fairly good with tummy time, which is also an improvement over how Nolan did at this point.

This weekend we have a few things going on - Nolan's 18 month pictures and a birthday party on Saturday in Chan. We're not sure what we'll do the rest of the weekend. We managed to make it to church last Sunday with both boys, and hopefully will make it again. Kale rocked it out, sleeping through the whole service. Nolan, on the other hand, was his usual self. The kid can't sit still, so Adam and I tag teamed it watching him. I'm not sure what age he needs to be when we start enforcing that he sit through church, but I'm pretty sure he's too young at this point. Maybe when he's 2 . . .

Almost 2 weeks in with 2 kids

Yep, hard to believe, but we're a week and a half in to our new family of four. Kale is settling in quite well, and Nolan is doing as well as can be expected for a kid who is teething horribly and has a very runny nose! Adam went back to work on Monday, so it's been just me and Kale home during the day. Nolan is still going to daycare full-time, which is good for both him and me! Kale is showing signs that he is going to be a very laid back and calm kid. Of the time we've been home so far he's had one day which I would describe as more challenging, and by that I mean he needed to be held most of the day - which equaled me getting caught up on all my DVR shows (but no nap:(). It's definitely an adjustment for me and Adam, as our focus right now is on the boys. Luckily our friends Jared and LeAnna are getting married on Saturday, so we can enjoy a night out!

My parent's were here last weekend, and my mom took the overnight shifts with Kale. Both my parent's were also able to spend some quality time with Nolan. He had a blast showing off his mad skills - running, throwing, and being a very active 18 month old! Adam and I were very well rested, and well fed, by the time they left!

Kale had his one week appointment on Monday. He added an ounce to his birth weight, and weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz (35%), and remained the same length of 21 inches (90%). His head grew a half an inch, which puts him at 20%. He's been much easier than Nolan was at this point, and that's because he didn't end up back in the hospital! But what would a baby of ours be if it didn't have a little quirk or 2? Kale seems to have some issues in the poo department. In fact, since we've been home he's only done it twice on his own. Unfortunately, that means we've had to provide some assistance to him to get things moving. We switched to a soy based formula and are using probiotics twice a day to hopefully help his system get regulated. Our next step is to switch to a non-iron formula until he's 4 months old.

Nolan had his 18-month appointment today, and he did really well. It was the most calm Adam and I have seen him in a long time! I thought he would weigh in over 27 lbs, but I was wrong! He weighs 26 lbs, 4 oz (60%), is 32 1/2 inches long (50%), and appears to have a small head, only checking in at 19%. You wouldn't guess that by looking at his round face! He even survived the 2 shots he needed to get - the flu vaccine and the MMR. The MMR is tough, because it goes right in the muscle. He has a bruise and was feeling some pain at daycare today. Hopefully he'll sleep through the night! He had one tough night this week where he needed to be held because his teeth were hurting his so bad. He doesn't ever get up in the middle of the night, so Adam and I knew it was serious!

As far as how I'm doing - I think I'm adjusting well. I definitely have a different attitude about being at home with Kale, and that's to enjoy it. Kale won't stay a baby forever, and I really want to soak it all in! I've also realized that washing bottles isn't so bad (in fact, kind of a nice getaway!), and that not sleeping through the night isn't fun, but it's temporary (hopefully!).

Kale Thomas Bleck

As of 1:46 on Monday morning we are officially one child closer to needing a minivan! After approximately 12 hours of induced labor and 15 minutes of pushing we finally found out our little surprise that's been perculating for the last 41 weeks and 2 days (yep, 9 days over due)...Kale Thomas Bleck. Tricia was positive we were having a boy the entire pregnancy, where as I just assumed we were destined to have a girl. Turns out, Tricia was right! Kale weighed in at 7lbs 6 oz, with a birth height of 21 inches and a head circumference of 13 inches. He was bigger than Nolan by 20 ounces and 1/2 an inch longer! Tricia's grandma can't believe how BIG he was! The labor went really well for Tricia, and she keeps telling me it was easier than when we had Nolan. I'm not sure what it's supposed to be like, so I guess I'll take her report as a good thing! We were discharged on Tuesday evening after waiting for Kale to get snipped, and after a brief stop at Jimmy John's (which is where we stopped after Nolan was born as well) we made it home with our new addition. My parents watched Nolan from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday night, which was a great help, and we waited until Wednesday morning until we made the official meet and greet occur between the two boys. Tricia woke up Nolan and recorded the event. Nolan literally stopped in his tracks when he walked in the nursery and I was holding Kale! He did come around, though, and warmed up to give Kale hugs and kisses. Nolan quickly got sidetracked, though, and we're sure he's a little unsure of how long this little creature will be sticking around! This morning when it was time to get Nolan up and ready for daycare Tricia was holding Kale and Nolan greeted his new brother by hitting him in the head with a plush soccer ball--the fighting has begun!

Things at home have been going really well. Both Tricia and I have commented on how much more relaxed and easy going we are this time around. Nolan doesn't know it yet, but he's really paved the way for his little brother! Kale has been eating 20-30ml every 2 1/2 to 3 hours on the button and burping really well. He usually follows that up with a wet and/or dirty diaper as well. The home health nurse was here today and Kale looks great. He's down to 7 lbs even, so he's lost an ounce since coming home on Tuesday, but the nurse said tomorrow he should start to make some gains in the weight department. Last night was our first bump in the road, when Kale pretty much cried from 9 - midnight. Once he did fall asleep he slept through the night until morning, even with us waking him up to feed him. We're pretty sure that's when he's going to have his fussy time. We keep reminding ourselves it's only temporary!

The bottle-washing has again re-commenced at the Bleck house--we had a nice 6-month break after moving Nolan into the sippy cups! We're also doing a lot more laundry again. We both forgot about the sheer number of little outfits, burp rags, etc. that a baby tears through in one day!

I only have this week off from work, so we're both looking forward to a little more sleep with some help from Tricia's folks this weekend, and it'll be nice to show off Kale to the rest of the family as well.

B-day

No, we haven't had the baby yet. I'm still feeling really good - just a little water retention in my ankles (but at least they still look like ankles!). The ultrasound and non-stress test we had on Friday confirmed that our baby is not stressed, and has not dropped a whole lot. So, that means the new baby's b-day is fast approaching. Tomorrow sometime between the hours of 5:30 and 8:30 am we're going to get a call from Methodist Hospital, telling us what time we need to report to the hospital for our induction. It's a really weird feeling knowing that by tomorrow or Monday our new baby will be here. Last night we met up with Erica at BWW's in Chan in hopes it might jump start things on its own, like it did with Nolan. No such luck! It has to show up sometime, though - we're at due date plus 7 days today!

Adam and I had a great day with Nolan today. Adam spent the morning and early afternoon fishing with his dad on Lake Minnetonka. He would have probably rather been playing in the 9th annual J&A golf tourney, but it's 2 hours away, and at this stage of the game it's just too risky! Nolan and I started our day at Target, and then met up with my girlfriends and their kids at the Target book event at Highland Hills. We didn't spend a whole lot of time at the book event, but rather at Chutes and Ladders, the ginormous playground. Nolan was really well behaved. We left at noon, and he fell asleep about 5 minutes in to the ride home. The best part was we slept until 2:45 in his bed! After he woke up from his nap Adam and I decided to take him downtown Mound to check out the carnival and run a few errands. In a few years when Nolan and the new baby are old enough, the carnival is going to be so much fun!

Nolan has recently become obsessed with planes. As soon as he hears one he stops what he's doing, points in the sky and says plane. He's not always sure where he's supposed to look, but he tries anyway. Oh, and at BWW's last night he came home with a balloon and hat. Who knew that's all it takes to entertain a 17-month old? The video is of him running around at 7:15 this morning with his newest prized possessions! And you might be wondering about the picture. Last year I picked up a Buzz Lightyear and Woody costume for Nolan at Target for $1.97 each. What I didn't do is buy the right size for him to wear them for Halloween this year. We squeezed him in to the Woody costume, just for laughs. As you can see, it's pretty funny. I guess it's back to square one for costume planning!

Another week, another trip to Urgent Care

Yep, poor Nolan. Over the weekend he got bit by quite a few mosquitos, especially on Sunday. Nothing was out of the ordinary until we got him up on Tuesday for daycare. His left hand was twice the size of his right hand - just like his foot was a few weeks ago! We probably could have just given him benedryl, but to be on the safe side we thought we should take him in, especially since he had a lot of other bites that didn't swell up. The good news it's not an infection, which is what he had in his foot. The bad news is apparantly this is common and will keep happening. In the future we can just give him benedryl to help with the swelling. We probably over-reacted by taking him back to Urgent Care, but both of us feel better knowing what to do next time this happens - which hopefully won't be until next year!

Nolan has really come around with the baby doll Adam and I have been carrying around the house. He doesn't pay a lot of attention to it, but does give it kisses and hugs when we tell him to. Tonight, after Nolan threw away his diaper, I told him to say goodnight to the baby - it was sitting in the baby swing. He walked over to say goodnight, and wanted to give the baby a kiss. He couldn't reach it, so he gently took the baby out of the swing, gave it a kiss, and put the baby back in the swing. It was adorable! The other good news is that Nolan is totally fine with the new baby at daycare. Jane told us he doesn't pay a lot of attention to her, but he's very affectionate when he does, for a short period of time. It's giving me a little hope that the transition at home will be easier.

We had our 40 1/2 week appointment on Wednesday. There's not a whole lot happening, so tomorrow morning we have an ultrasound scheduled at 8 am to make sure things are okay with the baby. At 9 am we have a non-stress test to time the baby's movements, and then I have another exam to see if there's been any change. If I don't go in to labor on my own over the weekend, we have an induction scheduled Monday morning. I would much rather go on my own, but I don't know if I'll have a choice. It really feels like we're close now, as today was my last day at work until the new year. It's a really weird feeling, knowing I'll be gone for 4 months. Luckily I have a fantastic team to help me out!

Baby Update 2010

Our due date (September 4th) has come and gone, which is exactly how Nolan's pregnancy went. I'm okay with it - I think Adam is getting a little antsy. I still believe the longer the baby stays in the belly the better it is, especially for the weight of the baby. I told Adam there is a 100% chance that we will have a baby in the next 7 days or so:) Our next appointment is on Wednesday, and I'm sure we'll talk about inducing, just like we did with Nolan. Luckily he came on his home, and we're hoping this one will, too.

We had a very relaxing Labor Day weekend. We stuck around home, had a bonfire 3 nights in a row, spent a lot of quality time with Nolan, and spent some time with Adam's family. We also got a bunch of stuff done around the house - cleaning, laundry, etc. I'm still feeling really good, so we took a couple of long walks on the trail, too. Nolan is a great companion on a walk, but really enjoys the time he spends with Adam when he takes Nolan on his training runs. Yep, Adam is training for a Turkey Trot 5K in Aitkin, so Nolan has benefited from his training!

On Friday afternoon I spent a few hours at Let's Dish, making meals for when the baby is born. Adam and I found it really helpful when Nolan was born, so we decided to do it again - just this time on my own. I came home with 10 meals, which should take us through the first 3 weeks of new baby being around, with a few other homemade meals mixed in. Anything to make it easier for us is worth it!

Nolan had a bit of a tough day today. He had a great morning, so we assumed it would continue through the afternoon. He went down for his nap at 12:15, and usually doens't wake up until around 2:30. Today he woke up really upset at 1:30, and we could tell he wasn't feeling well. He's in the process of getting 4 teeth, and normally it doesn't bother him - but today it did. We gave him some ibuprofin, hoping it would make him sleepy. It didn't, although it did make him feel a little better. He tried really hard to be good, but he was so overtired it was difficult for him. He took a turn for the worse at dinner time. Adam was making fish, and I was playing with him. He's recently thought it's funny to hit me, which it's totally not. It's not like it hurts, but it's not something we want him to do. The worst part is I know he's doing it to get a reaction out of me. The first few times he hit me today I held his arms down, told him "no, we don't hit. It hurts mommy and mommy's feelings." After he continued to hit me I put him in his very first time out, at the end of the hall upstairs. I don't really know if he understood why he was there, but he sat there for a minute and didn't make a peep. When his time was up I went over there, explained to him again why we don't hit, told him to say "I'm sorry" (which he didn't because I don't think he can yet), and then to give me a kiss and hug, which he did. I thought we had an understanding at this point, but we didn't, because about 10 minutes later he did the same thing to me. He went in to a timeout again, and after that didn't hit me anymore. I really wish I understood why he's doing it, but I know most kids go through this phase, and it's temporary. I just hope that he doesn't hit the new baby when we bring it home from the hospital!