3-year and 2-month well visits

Both Nathan and Kira had well visits today. First Nathan's stats. He weighs 31.5 pounds and is in the 45% percentile. He has gained half a pound in a year. He is 37.5 inches, which is in the 50%, so he has grown 3 inches since last year. He is growing up, not out these days. Nathan is super active, which I believe is contributing to his slow weight gain. That and he doesn't stop talking, so he burns a few thousand calories that way. Nathan has had a horrible cough since September and we were going to ask for a referral for an Ear, Nose and Throat Dr., but when Dr. Berent was listening to him, he quickly commented on Nathan's wheezing and confirmed our belief that something is wrong. He indicate that Nathan sounded asthmatic. So he will no be on a Flovent inhaler 2x a day. I am hoping this helps to calm his cough because he has been waking up multiple times a night for a couple of nights coughing. Other than that he is doing well.

Now on to Kira. She weighed 10lbs 2oz and was in the 33% and was 22.5 inches, which is in the 57%. Her head circumference was 15 inches, which is 34%. Dr. was slightly concerned with her slow weight gain, but not too concerned. He said to try to add an extra ounce of pumped milk to each feeding and then he would check her again in a month. He wasn't too concerned because she looks healthy, otherwise. She was given two vaccines today because we do an alternative schedule. She got her rotavirus vaccine and a new one called pentacil that combines several. Kira will go back in a month and get the other two that she should have gotten today. Overall, she is doing well, too.

Happy Third Birthday Nathan

Tomorrow morning our baby boy turns three. As I was putting together this slide show it hit me that my baby boy is no longer a baby in any sense of the word. The pictures show a gradual transition from chubby toddler to full on big boy. Nathan you are an amazing young man who surprises and entertains us on a daily basis. We love you buddy! You make us laugh, you challenge us and you have started to take on your roll as big brother. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you.

Miss Kira is 1 month old

Kira is one month old today. Despite the lack of sleep and the evening fussiness, this month seems to have flown by. Kira is starting to be more alert, hold her head up for a little bit and look around at her environment. She enjoys staring at lights and nightly baths. Kira also got her first cold last weekend, which was not so much fun for mom and dad, and I am sure not so much her either. Nathan is starting to get more into his role of big brother. He will spontaneously give her a hug and kiss and now asks to hold her every once in awhile.

From 3 to 4

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Originally uploaded by Davies Fam

Now that Kira is almost a month old, I figured it was time to update on our transition from 1 to 2 kids. For the most part things are going well. Nathan is doing much better than I thought he would, but we generally have 2-3 major meltdowns a week. I expected it to be more like 2-3 daily so I think he is doing well. Kira is doing well. She is slowly starting to emerge from her sleepy newborness and is into looking around, especially at lights. Brian and I are getting a handle on the change from 1 to 2.

Happy New Year and New Addition

Happy 2010! This is the first year in five years that we did not head to Mexico for New Year's. The reason was that I was very pregnant and due a few days after the new year. Anyway, New Year's was mellow this year with dinner with Julie and Art and their friends who were visiting from Australia. We were home by 9:30 and in bed shortly after. I had been sick with a sinus infection since before Christmas and it showed no signs of going away. We had a Dr. appointment on 1/8, which was 2 days before the due date. At that time I was 3cm dilated and almost completely effaced, but she was still up high. We decided that if she didn't come by the following Thursday we would induced because I was just tired of being so stuffed up and feeling yucky. So last weekend was beautiful in San Diego with temps in the mid 70's, perfect for long walks to help speed up the process. Nathan seemed to know that something was up and was extra snuggly and clingy to me all weekend. On Sunday evening we went to Julie and Art's house to celebrate Jared's birthday, which was our official due date. Still no signs of labor. However, about the time we sat down to dinner, I started having mild contractions. They were about every 30 minutes, but not painful. By about 9, they were much stronger and about 15 minutes apart. I went to bed to see if I would be able to get some rest before I needed to go to the hospital. I slept about 2 hours and then was woken up to strong contractions that were 5 minutes apart. I timed them for about an hour and then woke Brian up. He called his mom who was over in about 15 minutes to stay with Nathan and we were off. Once we were checked into triage they monitored us for awhile and were ready to send us off since the contractions didn't seem to be changing, but then baby's monitor strip was not spiking like they wanted so they ended up admitting us and putting us into Labor and Delivery. Around 3 I opted for the epidural because my contractions were strong enough to warrant it. For most of the night I was breathing oxygen and rolling from side to side to try to spike baby activity. At one point they mentioned having NICU staff on hand for delivery, which scared us, but around 4 they said there was enough activity to start pitocin. By about 9, I was 7-8 cm and the dr. came to break the water. By 11:43 she was here and weighed in at 8lbs 14oz (exactly one pound larger than Nathan) and 20.5 inches (exactly one inch shorter than Nathan). We spent one night in the hospital and were ready to get home to Nathan. Once home, Nathan was happy to have us home. He has been pretty good, but is starting to show signs of needing additional attention, which we are trying to provide. He is really doing much better than expected, but it has only been 4 days so I am sure we are in for our ups and downs. At any rate, we are happy to now be a family of 4 (6 if you count the dog and cat, which we do).

Big Brother/Little Sister




Home



Proud Grandpa



Just after birth

Christmas 2009

Christmas has come and gone once again. This year was filled with lots of family time and lots of gifts. We currently have a living room full of new toys and literally nowhere to put them. Nathan thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas spirit this year from the lights, decorating the tree to opening presents. He enjoyed many of the attractions around San Diego, as well, including Seaworld, the zoo and the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. We were happy to share this special time with just him before he becomes a big brother. We are looking forward to 2010 and the addition of a new baby girl, though as it gets closer (2 weeks until the due date). We hope all of our friends and family enjoyed the holiday season and wish everyone a Happy 2010!

Christmas Time is Here...

Christmas time when you are almost 3 is a magical time. Nathan has really gotten into the spirit this year. I think we have watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas at least 10 times since Thanksgiving. He was so excited when we picked him up from daycare on Tuesday to go pick out our tree. I thought he was going to spontaneously combust with all the jumping he was doing. Then when we got home the excitement continued when we decorated the tree. He loves to look at it everyday. Last weekend Balboa Park's annual December Nights took place. The whole park is lit up, the zoo train is decorated and the museums are all free. There is tons of food and Santa is there to greet the kids. It was madness for the adults because it was CROWDED, but Nathan once again jumped right into Santa's lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas. No fear there! Nathan was a little disappointed that by the time we got to the Old Globe Theatre to take pictures with the Grinch, he was no longer there, but quickly got over it. In the next week or so we plan to go to the zoo to check out there Jungle Bells, Seaworld to try the ice skating and use my pass once more before it expires and head down to the harbor for the Parade of Lights, where all the boats are decorated.