Patrick - 1 month

At one month:
Patrick weighs 11 lbs. 4.5 oz (80%) and is 22 in. (64%).
He eats about every 3 hours, including overnight, but usually goes back to sleep easily.
Loves to lay on the changing table and look around.
Does great with tummy time.
Likes to be held facing out, no shoulder time for this one.
Is wearing lots of his 3 mo. clothes already.
Still reminds us of an old man - will be interested to see if his personality matches.
We love you, little man!

Newborn days

Clearly my blogging has suffered as a result of adding a family member. Honestly, I'm typing one-handed right now and this post will only be as long as P's nap, but I have lots of updates!
In general, I'm loving my time at home with Patrick. He's a good baby, except for a few of those eternally fussy days. He's eating about every 3-4 hours, occasionally has some snacky times that I try to break quickly. Nursing every 60-90 minutes does not make for a very happy mommy! I am currently on meds for mastitis - not fun, but we'll make it through.
The spring weather has been great for my mood as we've gotten out for walks several times. I'm anxious to be cleared to do more exercising, though not sure when I'll have time for that! Theoretically, there will be a sleeping and eating pattern emerge soon, right? The whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing has never worked for me. I value that time to shower or eat or start laundry. And honest;y, the sleep deprivation doesn't seem quite as bad this time. (I've probably just jinxed that.) W&E are still loving their brother. It's a celebration every day when I bring P with me to pick them up from school.. One of the most amazing, unexpected things that has happened since we had Patrick is how  close Will & Elle have become.  They play together a lot more know - it's very cute.
Some photos to remember these newborn days:

is there anything cuter?

unhappy, but still cute!

I think he looks like Will here

Introducing...

Patrick Marshall! (named after his grandmothers - my mom is Patricia. J's mom's maiden name is Marshall, which is also J's middle name)

Born February 15, 2012 at 8:07 a.m.

weighing 8lbs. 7 oz. and measuring 20 in. long.
He's absolutely wonderful! His chin is similar to Will & Elle's, but his nose is entirely different. In general I think he looks quite different than the other two did. I'll try to post pics to compare later. So far he's a great baby, even sleeping some!

Delivery and recovery went very smoothly - best of the 3 for me. The big kids are totally in love with their baby brother. Will especially adores him. He sings to him and wants to hold him and touch him all the time. Elle is a big helper and is sure to let us know anytime Patrick is crying :)
I'll post more as I get time; this announcement was just long overdue!

Almost D-Day

Tomorrow is Delivery Day! It's so very strange to have it scheduled (and actually deliver as scheduled). However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, that's the plan. J & I are planning to enjoy a V-Day lunch today then have as normal of an evening as possible, probably not sleep much at all, and be to the hospital bright and early in the morning.

The planner in me really enjoys the scheduled thing. I can get things ready, prep the kids, try to envision how things will go. It occurred to me just the other day that if I don't actually go into labor first I get to avoid labor pains - that's a bonus. But there is certainly something I loved about the spontaneity and surprise of going into labor on my own. The adrenaline and joy is a rush. I'm thinking once we start the process tomorrow all of that will come back and it really won't matter.

Lots of people have asked if I'm "ready". Are you ever really ready to bring a new human into the world -- your world? I love being pregnant. So I am really trying to enjoy and savor these days. In some ways we're less well-prepared for this baby than we were for the other two. But we have the essentials in place. I think the biggest difference is that we (or at least I - I shouldn't probably speak for J) are more relaxed. I know it won't be perfect. I know there will be setbacks and challenges and that it will be really hard sometimes. But I know that this time around....and I'm at peace with it. I just feel so excited and joyful - both to be carrying this baby right now and to get to meet him tomorrow. All will work out just as it is supposed to. That said, extra prayers, good thoughts, positive energy etc. are appreciated :)

P.S. Will is so very excited to meet his baby brother. Yesterday he was talking to my belly asking "When are you going to come out?!" Then he was feeling as the baby was moving all over. There was one particular knobby part that he kept feeling as it moved. We discussed what body part this could be - hand, foot, elbow, knee. I told Will maybe his brother was fist-bumping him. He informed me that this was the first thing he wanted to ask the baby: "What was that knobby part we kept feeling?" I wonder what the reply will be...

Snugglies!

There has been a lot of this going on at our house lately. And I can't say that I mind it one bit! EK will ask, "Mommy, I snuggly with you?" and then she'll bring a blanket for me and one for herself and we'll snuggle. Very sweet.

"Let's go to sleep, Mommy"

Baby predictions

Since we're still awaiting the arrival of our newest family member, I thought I'd ask for some predictions.

Will thinks he will be born tomorrow - Feb. 7.
Ellie Kate thinks he will have pink hair and pink eyes.
Will, more practically, thinks he'll have brown hair and eyes "like the rest of us!"
My doctor asked me today how big I think he'll be - I'm guessing upper 7 or lower 8 lb range - right in between the other two.
I have no idea on arrival date predictions. My instincts are pretty terrible when it comes to these things. He may just wait until our scheduled date of 2/15. Is that a sign that he'll be the rule follower, doing everything just as he's supposed to?? I can hope, right?!

February and still pregnant

Hooray! We've made it to February! I'm actually going to give birth in the month I'm due -- what a new concept for me!

We had our 37 wk check-up on Monday. All seems good. Baby is positioned a little funny (diagonal - with his head pushing into my hip) so all the contractions aren't resulting in much change. Late last week and over the weekend I was feeling like we could be close. Now, I'm not really sure. The doc says she thinks it could be double-digit February. Baby is still growing and I'm still measuring big, so we'll just see what happens. Since I'm technically full-term, I don't have to be on bed rest anymore. She still advised me not to travel to work (40 min away) or keep the kids home from school all day, but I can make little trips out of the house. So, yesterday, I took full advantage of the 65+ degree weather and did just that. I made a trip to Target, bought many, many organizational supplies and came home and tidied and organized. Nesting? Maybe.

Last night J&I went to the kindergarten information meeting for Will. So hard to believe that is just around the corner! Got good info, met the teachers, saw the classrooms, etc. Will is really, really excited. We've been talking a little bit about it and how it will be different from where he's at now.

Both Will & Elle are growing in anticipation for the arrival of their baby brother. Especially now that's it's February, they are quite excited. Will is predicting days that correspond with KU basketball games. I'm thinking maybe 2/5 (to go along with our 25th b-days). Justin has requested, if at all possible, to avoid 8-10:30 p.m. this Saturday so he can catch the KU-MU game. Priorities...