Chloe's First Week

Chloe is now one week old. A lot has happened this week. First, on Monday my mom and I took the kids to the pediatrician for their appointments (Elliot's 15-month and Chloe's 5-day). Elliot is in the 50-75th percentile for his weight (25 lbs, 14 oz) and height (32-1/4") and 75-90th percentile for his head circumference (45.4cm). Dr. Hargrave said he is doing great and will likely start talking in words or small phrases in the next 3-5 months. Chloe also checked out just fine at now 7 lbs 14 oz, having lost only about 5 ounces since her birthday, so now she is on the upswing to gaining weight.

Nana & Grandpa left on Tuesday night. They drove away in their big truck back to Colorado with teary eyes and heavy hearts, and we were all sad to see them go. But they will come back soon for another visit.

Elliot is doing great. We have been getting plenty of rain here in Austin, so Elliot has been walking around in it (see lawnmower picture taken this morning). He loves to be outside and knows his way to and from the mailbox now, and is getting very good at walking in his Crocs (see picture, I think they are just too much... so adorable.) He will hold our hands to cross the street and knows that he can only go to the end of the driveway. Drew said he most certainly said "dog" today three times when our neighbor's weiner dog ventured over to bark at Abby. He likes to wave at Chloe and poke her in the head (his way of pointing to her), so we are trying to help him understand the word "gentle" when it comes to his sister.

Chloe is also doing great. It is early, but she is already an even easier baby than Elliot was. The first few nights before my milk came in she cluster-fed all night so I was pretty tired. But when my milk came in fully she started sleeping in 2-3 hour chunks in the night. She doesn't have her days and nights confused and seems to be a good sleeper. She even falls asleep in her bassinet which Elliot never did until he was a few months older. The only times she makes a peep is if she is hungry or has a gas bubble in her tummy. She likes to look around and seems to focus on us and objects. She also likes to sleep with her arms out of the swaddle and up by her head, just like her brother did. Her little noises are so sweet, that is something I had forgotten about newborns.

It seems we would have far less time and be busier and more tired with two little kids, but the opposite has been true. It's much easier this time around. Maybe because we feel confident in knowing what we are doing. I remember sitting around staring at Elliot in his little swing just waiting for him to wake up and need me. I'm definitely not on my toes that way with Chloe. It is just easier in so many ways this time around. Granted, we are in week #1 and things can always change. But we hope not, this is pretty great right now.

Thanks to all who have emailed, called or sent little things for Chloe.

Welcome Chloe Jane Mayer

Sorry it has taken us some time to post since the last quick blog, but here are some first pictures of our girl. We are biased of course, but we think she is absolutely perfect!

Chloe was born on Thursday, June 21st. She waited three days past her due date so she could be born on the summer solstice. She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches. (By comparison, she was born 10 days later than Elliot and weighed 9 ounces more, but was the same length.)

She came fairly quickly and easily, especially compared to Elliot whose labor took a long time. With Chloe, I woke up around 4am with some light contractions. By 7am I was timing them because I had to stop what I was doing when I had one. My mom drove me to meet Drew for my 9am appointment with Dr. Polon who said I was dilated to 6cm and immediately sent me up to Labor & Delivery. By the time I got there the contractions were very painful and close together. I quickly got to 10cm and felt like pushing, but had the epidural first so I could enjoy the pushing part instead of feeling like I was splitting in two. I pushed for about 30 minutes and she was born at 11:31am to a very welcoming audience - Mom, Dad, Nana, Dr. Polon, Nurse Luann, two very excited nursing students and Dr. Polon's tech. "Team Mayer" cheered at her arrival!

Her perfectly round head has lots of dark brown hair. I think she has my nose, care of my dad. She also has my small chin which Elliot also inherited. She has Drew's and Elliot's "finger toes". So far she is like any newborn and sleeps all the time. It's hard to feed her because she sleeps so much, but we try to get a boob in her mouth anytime she is even slightly lucid. My milk is starting to come in today so it's chow time!

Everyone asks what Elliot thinks of her. He is just too young to know who she is. He has no concept of what a baby is, let alone that this one is his sister. But he does wave to her which is very cute. Before we know it they will be best buddies.

Speaking of Elliot, he has very much enjoyed his Nana & Grandpa who have been helping his dada take care of him while I was in the hospital. I was only there one night, and it is so nice to be home now with my family. My mom and Rob are here until Tuesday and really helping us out.

PS - We don't have any big story about her name. We both just loved and settled on Chloe. We thought Jane was a cute middle name. My Grandma Red was Janet so I consider Jane an ode to her.

Baby's Coming... Finally!

Labor started at about 4am this morning. Right now my contractions are about 6-7 minutes apart and uncomfortable but not agony like they probably need to be. We go in to see Dr. Polon at 9am this morning so we'll see what he says. I have a feeling today is baby day! We will keep y'all posted.

Happy Father's Day!

Since Drew didn't get a daughter for Father's Day, we decided the next best thing would be dinner with his family on Lake Travis with Corona and the local acoustic tunes of our fave Matt the Electrician. We ate TexMex on the porch at Iguana Grille while Elliot painted himself with guacamole. Then he entertained us by trotting around the deck with all the other kids celebrating Father's Day with their dads.

As for me, I am still prego. The baby's due date is tomorrow. So far I haven't had a single contraction or any clue that she is thinking about coming out to meet us. Even now on the eve of her due date I am still not feeling as big or as uncomfortable as I was with Elliot, but definitely just as ready. My mom and Rob arrive tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully at some point this week we will have a little baby for them to coo over. Until then, Elliot will no doubt enjoy all the attention from his grandparents.

He has been pointing with his index finger this weekend when we ask him where something or somebody is. He also very much enjoys walking to the mailbox which is at the end of our block, and he likes to pound his hand on Abby's back, his way of petting her nicely.

The Waiting Game

Drew and I saw Dr. Polon this morning. He says there is no change in my cervix from last week's appointment. Still about 30% effaced and still only about 1-1/2 cm dilated. We were a little disappointed to hear that she is camping out, but not surprised since I haven't had any contractions or signs that she is on her way out. Waiting is the hardest part at this point. My due date is on Monday, so we hope this weekend we will see some action. A baby would be a pretty great father's day present for Drew. But I have a feeling we will be going to see Dr. Polon next Thursday at 40 weeks+4 days for another update. The good news is I feel pretty good and am not swelling or feeling like I'm carrying a bowling ball around like I did with Elliot.

The bad news is we haven't been sleeping well all week because of a certain little boy who is teething. He has awoken nearly every night this week at all different times. Last night it was 3:30-4:30am. The two bottom eye teeth he has been working on for a few weeks now seem to be almost through the gum, but I remember saying that before and it was still weeks and weeks. We hope they pop up soon for his sake. Teething has been a miserable battle for Elliot. Luckily he has had lots of play dates and activities this week to keep his mind off the pain.

Elliot is 15 months old tomorrow. He puts his arms over his head and grins when his dad says, "Touchdown!" Drew is already getting him ready for Longhorn football season.

My mom and Rob get here on Monday. We are all hoping there will be a baby by the time they arrive.

Cooling Off & Seeing an Old Friend

Elliot loves to play outside, so we have been trying to do that a lot lately. Saturday morning we took him to a playscape and then let him run around in some fountains to cool off. Sunday morning we met my old friend Jen (JJ) for brunch. She and her adorable daughter Kendall (one of her three kids) were here visiting a friend in Round Rock. JJ and I hadn't seen each other for 10+ years so it was fun to get together and talk about meeting our husbands, having babies, and what life is like for us now. Later in the afternoon Drew, Elliot and I went to the neighborhood pool to cool off. Aaaah! It's in the low 90s here and summer in Texas has arrived.

We have 8 days to go before Elliot's baby sister is due. I don't feel like I'm as big as I was with Elliot, and I kind of doubt now that she will come early. Drew and I saw Dr. Polon last Thursday, and he told us that he can feel the baby's head, that I'm about 30% effaced and 1-1/2 cm dilated. I have gained 24 pounds. I had gained 28 pounds with Elliot who was born 7 days early, and he was 7 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches. So I think she will be slightly smaller or will hang out for a while longer. Anyway, we are hoping that on Thursday morning's appointment there will be more progress to report.

Weekend Fun

Now that we are two weeks out until the baby's due date, we are kicking back and having fun waiting for her to decide to join us. Lucky for me I am feeling really good. I have energy and I'm not uncomfortable. (I probably look huge and uncomfortable though!) This is a far cry from the state I was in two weeks out from Elliot's due date when I felt like I had a bowling ball sitting on my bladder and was really uncomfortable all the time. This time it's easy and we are taking advantage by spending our time at the pool, park and at playdates.

This past weekend was a fun one. First, our sister-in-law Christina and kids Sophia (6) and Alexander (10 mos) came to visit from Houston where they are down from Colorado visiting her parents. We took the kids to the park at Barton Springs Pool and then on the Zilker Zephyr train. Then while the babies took naps, Drew and Christina took Sophia swimming at the neighborhood pool. The only person missing was Drew's brother Matt who had to stay in Colorado to work.

That night we went to a BBQ at our friends' Jennifer & John Rob's house with some other couples friends from our church. Jen & John Rob have a little boy named Davis who is 3 months older than Elliot. They could almost be brothers! The boys played together in the backyard for a few hours with all of Davis's cars, trucks and playground equipment. By the time we got Elliot home and to bed it was almost 9p. He was wiped out and slept very well. We decided we will have to get our boys together more often, they had such a good time.

Right now Elliot:

• Likes to walk down the street to the mailbox. It usually takes us a half-hour round-trip because he stops to look at everything or turn around before we have reached it.
  
• Gets up on his activity table to play with his toys. He fell off of it once but it didn't seem to deter him.
• Still loves to be in his baby sister's room so he can watch the mobile turn above her crib.
• Likes to take showers with mom.
• LOVES grapes.
• Has a weekly playdate with his friend Hayden who got a new wagon last week. Elliot likes to check out the wheels of course.
  
• Loves to play outside and will try to escape every time the door opens.
  
• Likes to go down the slide by himself head-first at the park.
• Wants to do lots of things by himself, but always wants to know that mama, dada or Stacey is closeby.
• Knows that a cow says "Moo".
• Has doubled the money in his investment account with his one and only stock: Apple.