Handprints & Footprints

We got a cute gift from Jeff's brother Dave and his fiancee Yuri. It's a handprint/footprint kit with a cute frame to hang on the wall. I'm fairly certain it was Yuri who picked it out since Dave is usually a check kind of a guy. Anyway, I finally decided to get Porter's prints done. I am used to doing footprints at work all the time, so I knew that would be fairly easy, but I was sort of dreading the handprint since those are usually a major pain in the butt to get. It actually went really well, and I got it on the first try! Of course Connor had to get his handprint and footprint too, and it's pretty hard to believe how big his feet and hands are compared to Porter's. Oh how fast they grow. Right before your very eyes too!

Here is the finished product:


And a photo of Porter with his handprint/footprint:


And Connor with his:


Last weekend our good friends the McCartys had a Porter Party for us. It was a great time and we enjoyed getting out of the house and seeing good friends. We even overstayed our welcome and were the last to leave at 9:30 (Lame, but it's way past most of our bedtimes!). Maggie had a blast holding Porter (or Quarter as she sometimes refers to him!)

Here Maggie is holding Porter:


Here are the Munson girls with Porter:

We have really enjoyed having my parents so close to us. They are only 10 minutes from us. We went over for dinner on Sunday. Here are some photos of them with Porter.

Papa Dan & Porter:


Grandma Joanie & Porter:


Connor and I got to escape for an outing on Wednesday and pick out our Halloween pumpkins. We picked out one for each of us. Grandma got some snuggle time at our house with Porter.

Here is Connor sitting on the tractor:

So, we had a busy week. Things continue to go well with Porter. He's starting to be more aware of his surroundings. He definitely follows your voice and turns to watch things. He's getting a little less complacent is and wanting to be entertained a bit more, and he's staying awake a little longer. Connor is still doing great with him. We call him the "Number one Porter Supporter". Whenever Porter is crying Connor will say "I'll go comfort him". He's really a sweet big brother (so far!).

Here's one more shot of Porter. He's starting to get a little chub in his cheeks!:

Porter 2 weeks old

Porter is 2 weeks old now, and at risk of completely jinxing myself, I have to say he is a really easy-going baby. He only cries when he's hungry for the most part, but when he's hungry, he lets me know it! He had his 2 week appointment with the pediatrician yesterday, and he's obviously been eating well, because he gained a pound since we left the hospital 9 days earlier, and now weighs 8lbs 6 1/2oz! Otherwise everything looked good. His umbilical cord was oozing a bit, so she put some silver nitrate on it to cauterize it. She also checked his platelet level because she said sometimes hemangiomas can eat up platelets, which could be causing the oozing from his cord. Porter was not happy at all about getting his heel poked, but luckily the platelet level was good, so no worries there. Next step is to see the pediatric surgeon on Dec 4th for a plan.

Here he is getting his weight checked:



And having a bottle (yeah! He takes a bottle well too!):



Here he is meeting his cousin "Big Nick". They are 22 years apart!:



We got together with some co-workers too, and Porter was very well-behaved.
Here he is with Janna:



And with Julie S:




Here are some cute photos of him today at 2 weeks:

One Week Old

Porter is one week old today! We are both doing well at home. Today is the first day we are home alone. Jeff went back to work today and brought Connor to daycare. I remember feeling all alone and a bit anxious when Jeff went back to work after Connor was born, but today I just feel relaxed and glad to have a bit of time alone with Porter. Connor was reluctant to go and just wanted to stay home with me today, but I know he will have fun playing with his friends and will have a structured day with lots of play time that I am not completely up to just yet. I think it will be nice to have him there twice a week so I can catch up on rest and he can have some structure to his week.

Pain-wise I am doing great. I haven't taken any percocet today, or ibuprofen to think of it, but I probably should take a dose of that. My incision seems to be healing well, and the breastfeeding is getting a little less sore. Porter is eating great and has already surpassed his birth weight and is now 7 lbs 14 oz!! We had the home care nurse come out yesterday and check him out. He seems to be slightly jaundiced, but I think with how well he is eating it will subside soon. He has his well-baby visit with the pediatrician next Wed. He did pretty well last night with feedings, waking me at 11pm, 1:40 and 5am, then up at 7:45, which was ok because I got up with Connor and helped to see him and Jeff off for the day. Porter went back to sleep after eating and didn't wake up until 10:45. Things feel so different with the 2nd child. I feel like I'm so much more productive when he's sleeping than I was the first time. I guess it's just being used to being a mom and multi-tasking that helps. I should really take advantage of it and catch up on rest myself though too. I think I'll take a nap this afternoon.

Porter getting his bath today:


Porter watching his mobile:


Ahhh sleeping baby:


Cute photo when we were in the hospital:

Happy Birthday to Porter!!

Delivery day finally arrived on October 4th as planned. It was a beautiful fall day here in Minnesota. We woke up and got all our stuff together. Jeff and Connor had breakfast (or breafkast to Connor), then we headed over to my parents to drop Connor off. Here are Jeff & I just before dropping him off. One last preggo shot:


That's some belly! We then arrived at the hospital and I got all checked in and they got my IV started and asked me all the admission questions. It was nice knowing all the nurses, my co-workers were going to be taking good care of us. I didn't really feel nervous, it was just a surreal experience going to the hospital and not being in labor, but still knowing that you would be delivering your baby in a couple of hours! I was really excited to find out what it was, but I started feeling like it was a boy when they put the monitors on and the heart rate was in the 110s just like Connor's was. I went back in the OR at 11:30, they got my spinal anesthesia started, and I started to feel numb, then Jeff came in and my doctors came in. Everything went really well, still it's very weird knowing what is going on on the other side of the sterile drape, and knowing that it is happening to your body. It was much better this time since I hadn't been in labor for 16 hours first! It was still uncomfortable when they actually were taking the baby out though. That was probably the worst part and the best part. The nurse anesthetist said, "You were right, it's a boy!" I just cried tears of joy and was so happy to hear his little cry! They held him up over the curtain so I could see him, and he was beautiful!
Here is an early photo of him:




Then, I went to the recovery room and Jeff took Porter to the nursery to bathe him. I forgot, he arrived at 11:52am, weighed 7 lbs 10 1/4 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long! I continued to feel well in recovery and they got my PCA (patient controlled anesthesia) started. I did get nauseated from it and ended up throwing up a lot that night, but did fine once they turned it off at 4am. I was able to nurse Porter while I was still in the recovery room, and he did great right away! We got out to my room around 2:30 or so I think. I was in the same room I was in with Connor, which was 2340, and nice big room. It was fun to see all my co-workers on 2300 welcome me to my room. Everyone has been so great in their support of my during my infertility and pregnancy, and also while I was in the hospital. I am so lucky to have such great co-workers and a great job, though I won't miss going to work for 3 mos!!

Porter and I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, and went home on Sunday October 7th. It was good to get home. Jeff said "It didn't feel like you were in the hospital this long last time". I said, "Well, you didn't have to keep a 4 year old busy last time!". Connor came down the same afternoon that Porter was born, and he was so cute. Just a huge smile on his face and he was really excited to see and hold his new brother. When Jeff called him he said "what is it?" and Jeff said "A boy" and Connor said "A boy" in kind of a defeated voice then went on playing and handed the phone back to my mom. She said he was buzzing around the house just a few minutes later very excited. Here are some Connor & Porter shots:




Here are some of my 3 boys:



Everything is going really well at home. Porter has been a very good baby so far. Mostly just cries when he is hungry or wet/dirty. He's been doing pretty well during the night too. He woke about every 4 hours last night to eat. The home nurse is coming out tomorrow for a visit. Porter was already gaining weight back when we left the hospital, so hopefully he has surpassed his birth weight by now.

Right after birth the nursery nurse noticed that he had a hemangioma on his right inner thigh. It's an overgrowth of blood vessels that resembles a bruise, but sticks out more. Officially it is a tumor, but non-cancerous. We had a pediatric surgeon see him in the hospital, and we will follow-up with him when Porter is 2 mos old, or sooner if there are any problems with it. He thought that because it was fairly large it would need to be removed. I'm not sure how they will do this, but we will find out in December. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, and I guess it's in a good place if there will be any scarring involved, since shorts would most likely cover it up. You can see it on the first photo that I posted.

Anyway, we are all doing well. Jeff has been off work and will be going back on Thursday. I will miss having him around since he has been a great help to me with running errands, cooking, keeping Connor busy and helping out with the baby. My mom will be helping out with taking Connor to preschool for me until I can drive again (2wks after delivery) and she brought us over a great dinner of stuffed shells, salad, bread and pie the night we came home from the hospital. It's great to have such good support of our family and friends! My sister came up from Iowa for the weekend too, so it was fun to have her meet Porter so early too!

Gotta get some sleep. I just had to update with our info!