Living the life!

So we are now in our second week with two children in the house and I have to say so far it's not all that bad. A week ago I did not feel the same since I was in so much pain and I was not used to waking up during the night to feed a newborn (Ethan slept through the night at 4 months)but it has gotten easier. Ethan has calmed down a great deal now that it's just the four of us and (I think) he's really liking having a brother. He helps with almost everything. He likes to observe diaper changes, he will sit with us during feedings, and he tells us daily that Colin needs a bath ("Colin bath, Colin bath..."). Right now Colin is too small for the big bath or to be in his bathtub in the big bath but I know when we transition him to the big tub, Ethan will have the greatest time!

All in all Colin is completely different than Ethan was at the newborn stage. They look alike but their temperaments are completely different. Justin never really got to see the "bad" side of Ethan so he doesn't remember the uncontrollable crying and fits Ethan used to give me during maternity leave so it is like a breath of fresh air that Colin really doesn't display his emotions yet. Yes, he does cry when I take to long getting his bottle ready or when he gets cold from the baby wipes, but all in all, he's quiet and just goes with the flow, and just observes what is going on (hello baby Justin). If I had to sum our children's personalities up, I would say Ethan is like me (God help us) and Colin is like Justin. Maybe it will change and maybe it won't, only time will tell.

One downside of last week was the our car (which we bought in May) was in an accident. Thankfully Justin and Ethan were not hurt, but my poor car did suffer some damage. It's in the shop now being repaired and I hope to have to back by next week. Apparently it is requiring a 10-day fix so it should be just like new again. It was new in May... 

Below are some pictures of the damage:

So as you can see, we are lucky that no one was hurt and the damage can be fixed.

Now here are some more enjoyable pictures of our boys:

A picture of the boys side by side (Colin looks small but at one point Ethan was even smaller than Colin is here)

Little brother telling big brother to "shhhhh"

Ethan at Kyleigh's birthday party

Colin at Kyleigh's birthday party

He's here!

Well it finally happened! Colin McCabe Mandell is here! It seemed like we had been waiting forever, but our newest addition has arrived and what an amazing day it was! Since Ethan was born via cesarean section, we decided to have Colin in the same fashion. The risks outweighed the benefits and we decided it was not worth the risk especially when it came to putting the little man's life in potential jeopardy.

The day started early for us. We had to be at the hospital by 6am. Because I did not want to just show up right after rolling out of bed, I decided to wake up early (4:50am) and shower and get make sure I was clean for the big day. My parents stayed at our house so they could take Ethan to school and make sure he was taken care of while Justin and I were away. We got everything packed and were out the door.

After arriving to the hospital, I was admitted, hooked up to an IV, and then sat there patiently waiting for the my doctor to show up and for things to really get started. When I had Ethan I had an epidural and for Colin's delivery they were going to do a spinal which was explained to me as one shot of numbing medication in the back and not a continuous numbing agent like an epidural. Either way I was terrified as I know the risks of both and just was dreading the needle being put in my back (as I am sure any person would be). BUT of course things did not go according to plan (it seems like for us it never does). Since I was taking baby aspirin to help keep preeclampsia/eclampsia at bay, I could not have an epidural or a spinal as the anesthesiologist feared I might develop a clot in my spinal cord which could result in paralysis. So we were given two alternatives: wait five more days to have Colin or I could be complete asleep for the procedure. My doctor did not want me to wait another five days so we decided to have me go completely under and deliver the baby without me being awake to remember doing so. With this option, Justin would not be allowed in the room, I would not be able to hear Colin crying for the first time, I would not able to be the first person to hold him, and when it was time to wake up I would feel as though I was hit my a ton of bricks and be in the worst pain OF MY LIFE! Sounds awesome doesn't it?

Once the decision was made to be asleep for the whole procedure, everything seemed to speed up and in no time Colin was here. He was born at 9:15am. He weighed 7lbs 2oz, was 19 3/4 inches long, and was completely perfect. Justin was able to see him right after he was born and he was even able to feed him about 20 minutes after he was born.  Our little guy came out hungry and has been the same way ever since! Colin is completely different than Ethan with regards to a sleeping schedule and formula intake. When Ethan was born it was hard to get him to eat and keep it down and we joke that Colin ate more in one day than Ethan ate in a week. He eats ALL of the time and as long as he is keeping it down, we don't mind. He also (so far) has been really great with sleeping. Of course we are going to bed later, but I consider it a success when a 4 day old newborn sleeps from 1:30am-6:00am instead of being up every two hours like Ethan was. So below are some pictures of our little guy and if you has followed the pictures of Ethan since he was born, the boys are very similar and I couldn't be happier!

Colin McCabe Mandell

The 3 boys

The birthday boys

My first time feeding Colin

Ethan giving his little brother a kiss

Gigi with her two boys

Colin with his grandpa (Peepa)

Little man wide awake

Until next time...

Our last weekend

So this weekend marks our last weekend with only one child and Ethan's last weekend as an only child. It's hard to believe the time is finally here when we will be adding a fourth to our family of three. While it's exciting it's also nerve racking and I'm a little worried about it. I am worried because we have been living so comfortably in our routine for two years and now our routine will have to change not only for Justin and I but also so Ethan. I am sure at the beginning it will be hard but just as we became accustomed to Ethan's needs and set his schedule, we will be able to do the same for both boys.

Friday also marked my last day of work for awhile and it is going to feel weird but good to not have to go to work tomorrow morning. Of course I will not be sleeping in as we are keeping Ethan in school and keeping him on his schedule but it will be nice to be able to spend tomorrow cleaning and getting ready for the big day. It will be nice to not have to come home from work and complete my "chores" but instead will do them in my own time during the day. My plan is to get everything done by the time I have to go pick Ethan up from school so that way on Tuesday I won't have anything to do other than get a much needed pedicure. We will see how that plan goes but as long as I stick to it, I can get it done!

Since it was Ethan's last weekend as an only child, Justin and I wanted to do something special with him and have one last outing with our little guy. We decided we wanted to take him somewhere where we all had never been and decided on the children's museum in Portsmouth. Below are some pictures from the big day:

Ethan playing with the trains

Ethan and Justin in the bubble room

Brush, brush, brush

Ethan and Justin being fire fighters 

Ethan being Ethan

Ethan dressing up

So that is all for this week. We are just getting excited for Wednesday and can't wait to meet our newest little guy!

Until next time....