Tales of Baby McCabe: September 2013

I always thought time flew by when we had Nolan, but now that we have two, I seriously have no idea where the time goes! These last two weeks have been very busy, in a good way. Jason goes back to work on Monday, though, so things will get more chaotic for me soon. I'm nervous for that...

William is doing very well! He is a pretty good sleeper (knock on wood). He will sleep in his bouncer chair, his swing, in his pack n play (I try to do one nap in there a day to get him used to sleeping on his own), in our arms, in the car seat. We're trying to make sure he gets enough awake time during the day so his day and nights don't get reversed again. At night we get about 2-3 hour stretches of sleep at a time, which is manageable. I don't feel like a zombie like I did the first month of Nolan's life (we only got 1 hour stretches of sleep, sometimes 2).

Last week when William was one week old we took him to the doctor for the 1 week check-up. Our little man weighed 8 lb, 2 oz! When we left the hospital he was 7 lb, 0 oz, so he gained over a pound in less than a week! I couldn't believe it. The pediatrician thought he looked perfect (so do we), so unless there is a problem we won't go back until 2 months. William's cord fell off later that day, right around the same time Nolan's did.

One thing that I'm watching closely is William's spit-up. He sometimes spits up A LOT, to the point where I wonder if anything stayed down. It also comes out his nose, which can't feel good at all. Poor baby. I'm trying to figure out if there is a pattern to when it happens. I think it happens more often in the morning, when my supply is naturally larger. I'm hoping in the next few weeks the supply and demand will even itself out and my supply will be the right amount for him. I think I have more than he needs right now, and he is taking in too much. But if it doesn't get better and seems to be bothering him (it was this morning), I'm going to take him to the pedi to see if he has GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) like Nolan did, and to see if he should be on Zantac or Prilosec like Nolan was.

We had our newborn photo shoot this past Wednesday with Judd, our wedding photographer (and the one we used for Nolan). Nolan took a lot of coaxing, but he did pretty well for his age and for being an active boy. I go back on this Wednesday to check the pictures out. I'm hoping we got some good ones!

Nolan is still doing pretty well with the adjustment. He still loves doing tummy time with William and giving him kisses. However, he is acting out a little more to get our attention. It's nothing too big right now, but that could change once Jason goes back to work this coming week and he isn't getting that daddy time during the day anymore. Overall he is the same happy, active, funny, sweet little boy he always is.

One of the last times at the Splash Pad (pre-William)

Those eyes!

Earlier in the summer - enjoying a sparkler

Checking my new little man out

Not happy with the first bath

Washing his hair

Daddy and son

Nolan meeting William for the first time

He wanted to touch William

The hospital gave us a cake!

Ready to go home!

Most of William's hair is on the back of his head

He clearly loved the car seat (he actually did once we got moving)

Love this

Checking William out (he was in he pack n play)

Hanging out in the back yard while Nolan played with his water table

Drinking the water (favorite activity with the water table)

cheesy grin :)

So snuggly

Not enjoying the first bath at home (he doesn't cry during baths anymore)

So little!

Big eyes!

Kisses for little bro

Touching gently

Fixing the blanket

Nolan asked to hold William,,,it lasted 5 seconds :)

1 week old!

Nolan showing off his expressions :)

It's a boy!!! After keeping us waiting past his due date, William (Liam) Peter McCabe came flying into the world on Friday, September 6. Jason and I had just finished eating dinner and were catching up on MTV's The Challenge. It was about 8:40 pm. I relaxed on top of a bunch of pillows on the couch, so I was half sitting, half laying down. All of a sudden I felt the strangest "pop" sensation, but nothing happened. Then about a minute later, I felt the pop sensation again, and then a gush of water. I jumped up from the couch telling Jason that my water broke, who also jumped up. He threw some paper towels under me and then ran and grabbed two bath towels and threw them under me. I laughed and then cried a little, overwhelmed by what was happening. We both started getting ready for the hospital; Jason started packing the car and I started cleaning up around the house. My contractions started pretty much right away, and this time they were 3 minutes apart from the start. I knew that we didn't have very long to get to the hospital, so I had Jason call my parents, who were going to take care of Nolan. Luckily he reached them right away and they started making their way to our place. The contractions were getting more intense as time went on, so I called my OB to tell them I was coming in to the hospital. I reached the answering service, who said they'd have the on call doctor (Dr. Swigert, who happened to be the on-call doctor who delivered Nolan, too) call me back.

Meanwhile, my parents show up to get Nolan and Keegan (it was too late to drop him off at daycare). In-between contractions I said goodbye to Nolan and Keegs, trying to keep it together. While Jason was helping get Nolan in the car I had a super intense contraction and knew we had to go immediately. I called for him to come back into the house and said we had to get to the hospital ASAP. We took off right after my parents did. I had Jason call my OB again, telling them we were going to the hospital (we hadn't heard back from Dr. Swigert, who happened to actually be delivering a baby at that time). The contractions started to be back-to-back, so horribly painful.

We parked as close to the entrance as possible and started making our way in. I had to pause a few times during the most intense part of the contractions. I knew we didn't have long, but I wanted the epidural. I had a gut feeling I wasn't going to get it though. I could actually feel myself dilating and pressure building.

We made it to the Labor and Delivery check-in room, where I made Jason talk since I couldn't. They wanted to check me to see how far dilated I was, and I desperately told Jason to tell them to hurry because I needed the epidural. They checked and I was already at 8 cm! The nurse said they could get the epidural in if they could get 300 ml of fluid in me, but they needed to get me to the delivery room. I knew she was lying, there was no chance I was getting it. They wheeled me in a bed to the delivery room where the nurse explained that it was too late for the epidural, but they could give me some shot that would last two hours, which would be more than enough time for me. I said yes, please, but less than a minute later I felt an intense need to push. They checked and I was fully dilated! They told me it was too late for any pain meds and I started crying saying, "I can't do it!" They told me I could and of course they were right. I pushed through about three contractions and William was born! Jason got to proudly announce, "It's a boy!" William let out a cry and they placed him on my chest. He stared right into my eyes, I'll never forget it. The nurses took him to weigh and measure him, clean him up, etc. He weighed 7 lb, 6 oz, and is 21 inches long. Very similar to Nolan, who was 7 lb, 1 oz, and 20.5 inches long.

It all happened so fast, I didn't even have my hospital id bracelets on yet. They put them on and it showed that I checked into Labor and Delivery at 9:53. William was born at 10:08. I barely made it! I feel so fortunate that he was born in the evening, not during the day. Who knows if I would have made it to the hospital if my water had broke at work. Or if Jason would have even been there for the birth! The nurses told me that next time (we still would like to be blessed with one or two more kids) I'll have to be induced to make sure I give birth at the hospital and not at home or in a car! I was in a state of shock after William was born, trying to comprehend what had happened in last 90 minutes. I got a little dizzy/light headed, but it passed. When I felt up to it, I held and nursed William, who was a natural at it.

The similarities to big brother Nolan don't just end with their birth stats. As of right now, they look SO similar! Well William now to Nolan as a newborn. Their eye shape, little nose, profile, ears are the same, as well as their hair! William has the same dark, spiky/wavy hair that Nolan had, just not as much of it. He doesn't have as much on top of his head like Nolan did. I have some side-by-side pictures of the two. It's crazy how similar they look! It will be fun to see how they look alike and different as they grow up.

We've been home since Sunday (it's now Thursday) and things are going pretty well. The first two nights were really rough, with William having his nights and days mixed up and not wanting to be set down, typical newborn style. It's gotten better, but I'm not getting much sleep. It's been so nice and helpful to have Jason home.

Nolan has been doing very well so far, adjusting to being a big brother! A little jealousy is coming out now, but overall it's going very well. Nolan loves William and grins when he sees him and when William makes little noises. He LOVES doing tummy time with William and gently touches him and points out his nose, ears, hands, etc. Today while William was napping in the bouncer Nolan went up to him and gently kissed his face and mouth about 15 times. It was the sweetest thing ever! Then when I was taking William out of the bouncer Nolan put his arms out, asking to hold him. Jason and I had Nolan sit on the couch and we carefully propped William in Nolan's arms. It didn't last for very long, but it was cute to see Nolan holding him!

We go to the doctor tomorrow for William's one week appointment. Hopefully he will be back to his birth weight, if not past it.

We feel so blessed to add another healthy baby to our family!

Pictures, from newest to oldest (a few are out of order).