Two Weeks!

Whoa...trying to update the blog is a lot harder now...(like I needed any other hurdles to my delinquent posting). Especially, since this is one of the first days that I haven't taken a nap while Alden and Hudson were sleeping in the afternoon...but this is the most peaceful, useful time of day, so I am trying to cram a lot into these couple hours.














It is hard to believe that we have almost made it through 2 weeks! I feel like I have been mentally checking off the days in my head, knowing that things are going to gradually get better (meaning, Mom will be getting more sleep). Hudson is VERY grown-up today, as he woke up this morning and his crusty, dried raisin umbilical cord had fallen off. Thank goodness. Not that it was a huge deal, but diaper changes were seeming very complicated with the applying of the alcohol to the cord and vaseline application to the circumcision site.
















We have had a busy last week. We were able to spend some great time with Debbie, Jessica, Miles, and Lydia while they were in town, and Alden loved having kids to play with. Jess and I met our friend Colleen and her daughter on Wednesday morning for brunch at Carolina Cafe. I was childless for the morning (AWESOME!) and enjoyed time to catch up and to see Colleen's daughter Mary, who is almost 1, and SO cute.

Nana was up from Tuesday-Thursday and was the official Baby Rocker. Hudson got very spoiled from all his time snuggling with Nana in the rocking chair, but we have to cram in as much time into our visits as possible. After all, Alden got to live with Nana for 6 weeks when she was little! Nana gave Hudson his first bottle, too, which he took like a champ. It was so great to have Nana here. We really miss our time with her now that we aren't in Charlotte.

This weekend, my mom went to our house in Charlotte for a work-on-the-dissertation retreat, and we were on our own at home. It was a very relaxing weekend, and the weather was SO pleasant. We took Alden and Hudson to Bond Park Saturday morning. Hudson really enjoyed falling asleep in the Bjorn with Matt.














Saturday afternoon, I went to my friend Elizabeth's bridal shower. It was a great opportunity to celebrate Ellie and Dan, who will be married in January, and a fun impromptu reunion of the college friends before the Lake James Weekend Extravaganza in September. I really enjoyed getting out by myself for a few hours, and Matt did a great job wrangling Alden and Hudson solo. Auntie Amber came over that night, and snuggled Hudson for a few hours. It is so nice to have people take him. So nice.

We used the opportunity to take Alden and the dogs on our nightly constitutional. Alden started off not wanting to ride in the stroller, and fell down in the driveway and scraped her knee. For the ENTIRE walk, she was pitching a fit...sometimes about wanting to walk, sometimes about just wanting out of the stroller, sometimes about the boo-boo. AHH! Our neighbors heard her going and coming, and actually came out to try and distract her. We were pretty disruptive. I ended up carrying a thrashing, screaming Alden up from the greenway. Then, Matt took her outside again to hunt for lightning bugs, which seemed to calm her down some. Although she was upset, Matt and I couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Maybe that is a bad response.

Sunday, we played hooky from church again, and met Courtney and Tom Bogan and their kids Avery and Cole for lunch at Smithfields. Alden and Avery had such a fun time together, and it was great to see Cole, since the last time was when he was in the hospital!

We walked the kids down to the park last night, and Alden ran off a lot of energy on the way home. No tantrums, so that was good.

Hudson has been holding his head a lot this past week. He is getting so much stronger. His MO lately has been to sleep a lot off and on during the day, and then is VERY awake from about 9-midnight. Last night was the first night he was up around dinner time and went to bed around 11. Then, he slept til 3!! That 4-hour stretch is our longest so far! I know it doesn't sound like much, but I was excited!

Alden and I went to the last story time at the library this morning. They take a break to plan and prepare in August before school starts. Now, without our Y membership starting up yet, and no library, we will have to get creative about distractions.

Aunt Kitty Scott and Cousin Elizabeth had graciously sent a TON of clothes down with Nana for Alden. Alden LOVED playing dress up, although her dress/pants/shoes ensemble didn't quite go together.

She's really been enjoying playing with her blocks, and made this great tower..."As tall as you!"

First Few Days

We have made it through the first few days at home with 2 kids. Wow...2 kids. Is this really us??

Thursday night, we got the new stroller out, and took Hudson and Alden for a spin. Hudson, of course, fell asleep, and Alden, of course, just wanted to get out and walk.

Our first night, we were up a lot. Hudson had slept most of the day after the trauma of his circumcision, and wanted to make up for it by eating a lot that night. Friday morning, Jessica and Miles came over to visit. Alden and Miles have such a good time together. They got out all the Little People stuff in her room and had a blast.

We took Hudson for his first doctor's appointment that afternoon. He had gained a couple ounces from his discharge weight of 7 lb 8 oz, to 7 lb 10 oz...a good testament to his hearty appetite the night before. The nurse and doctor said he looked good and to call with any questions. It feels a lot better to sort of know what to expect this time...although penis care has Matt and I both a little daunted. Alden came with us to the doctor, and was excited to get a lollipop for being a good big sister, and thrilled to see a picture of Peter Pan in the lobby. When we got home, Alden practiced some of her doctor skills on her baby brother.

We all took a LONG nap that afternoon, and walked Alden down to the park at the pool. My mom watched Hudson for us, and it was fun to have some time with just Alden. She walked all the way back, announcing when it was "break-time" and wanting to alternate walking both the dogs. Luckily, on the way back, both dogs were tired, too, and weren't going to pull her down.

Friday night was hard, too. Hudson gorged himself on milk, and ended up with a tummy ache. He cried and was pretty uncomfortable until he got some good burps out. Matt and I were awake until 2:00 before we all settled down. I have to keep reminding myself that this is the worst part and it doesn't last forever...

Yesterday, Matt and Alden went to the "New Y" to go swimming. They had a really fun time, and Alden surprised Matt by doing some of her best swimming to date, and jumping of the side backwards. I think one of the highlights of going to the pool for her is snacking, because Matt said they took breaks to eat a few times an hour. "Alden do you want to go to the big pool now?" "Eat?" "You want a snack?" "Alright."

We went on a short walk last night with dogs and kiddos, and then took Alden to a "New park". There were some "bad boys" there throwing mulch and sand, and we didn't stay a long time because of the bugs. As we were leaving, Alden was saying "Bye-bye park, I love you!"

Our night last night was much better. We still were up every few hours, but got some rest in between. Hudson had his first "bath" last night, which he took like a man, without any tears. It was good he was due for one, as he spit-up on himself a few times yesterday. He just doesn't know when to stop eating...

Birthday Recap

Tuesday morning, Amber called us at 6:00 to tell us to come to the hospital by 7:15 for our induction. Matt was already up, and I got up, showered, and we loaded up our bags for the hospital. Amber met us at the desk, having worked the night shift 7 p -7a. She got us set up with a great nurse, Lanie, and a super room. She and Lauren LiVecchi even left us a good luck message on our white board.

We went through all the admission stuff with the nurse, and met Dr. Zimmerman, who would be delivering Hudson. It was encouraging that I was already dilated 3-4 cm, which was an improvement from our last doctor's visit. They started the pitocin at 9:00, and checked me again at 11:00 before Lanie took her lunch break, and I had progressed to 5 cm. When Lanie was at lunch, I was starting to get uncomfortable stuck in the bed, and was able to move into a rocking chair, although I wasn't allowed to stand up and move around since I had all the stuff attached to me. That hour before noon, my contractions started coming every 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, and I was having to concentrate and breathe through them. I had a lot of lower back pain, and it helped to have Matt apply counter-pressure. I got my epidural at noon, and was 6 1/2 cm when Matt left to get a snack around 1:30. At one point, they had to give me some oxygen since Hudson was having some variables in his heart rate, which after the fact, they attributed to the cord being wrapped around his neck twice. By 2:30, I was 8 cm, and just before 3:00, I had dilated to 10 cm. We did some preliminary pushing with the nurse, and about 15 minutes with Dr. Zimmerman. Hudson made his appearance at 3:33! It was amazing how quickly it all went...so much different than last time.

Amber had come in to check on us that afternoon, and she was able to come in pretty soon after we were all cleaned up. It was really special to have her there! They moved us up to our recovery room around 5:00, and Mom, Dad, and Alden were there to great us. Alden kept saying "Mommy, mommy" and didn't understand that she had to wait until the nurses got me moved and settled before she could come in. She was so precious visiting with Hudson, and didn't want anyone else to hold him. Our visitors ran out to get Chick-Fil-A and the giant cookie cake (my one request in the hospital), and came back bearing gifts of food. Alden cried when they left, but kept saying "Nurses help Mommy", like she kind of understood that I had to stay.

Our time in the hospital felt like a vacation. Matt and I felt guilty about having a couple days together just to read and hang out while Mom, Amber and Ashley tended to Alden while my dad went to Boston. We actually got a good 4 hour block, and a 3 hour block of sleep that first night between being up with Hudson, and being interrupted by nurses coming to collect blood, check vitals, and check on us. We had our first visit with the pediatrician, who told us Hudson checked out just fine, and had dropped to 7 lbs 9 ounces. Mom, Amber, and Alden came back to visit us that afternoon, and Alden enjoyed reading her new books. She wanted to read to Hudson, too, but he wasn't very interested.

Thursday morning, we met with my doctor, who cleared us to go, and pretty much spent the morning waiting for Hudson to recover from his circumcision. Ouch. We were finally able to leave around 2, and were welcomed home by Mom and Alden.

My OB left us with the following instructions, which I am recording here so I remember...they are a funny group of guys:

1. You must go out on a date ALONE and with your HUSBAND before you come back for your 5 week check-up.

2. If it hurts, don't do it. If it doesn't, you're most likely ok.

3. 4-4-4; 4 ibuprofen, every 4 hours for 4 days, if needed

4. Visitors must bring food, and if they aren't helping within 20 minutes, they need to go...(Time for the baby to nap...)

5. You must bring a picture to the office.

Welcome Hudson Joshua Wyatt!

The Wyatt family added a fourth member yesterday! I am proud to present our son Hudson Joshua Wyatt, born at 3:33pm on July 29, 2008. He weighs 7lbs. 14oz. and was 20 ½ inches long.

Mom is doing great, and relaxing nicely at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, NC. Her scheduled induction went very well and the delivery happened without any complications. Praise God!

Last Pre-Hudson Update

Well, it appears that tomorrow will be Hudson's birthday. We are thinking that we will get the call from the hospital to come in first thing in the morning. They will start me on pitocin, and possibly break my water to get things started. Hopefully, by dinner time, we will have a baby!

We had a great last weekend as just the 3 of us. We watched the end of the Tour de France, which has kept us up a lot of nights this month. Saturday morning, we took Alden to the pool again. She did a backflip in the water! I don't think she could do it again if she tried, but she laid on her back, went under, and as she was righting herself she totally flipped around. She was pretty impressed with herself! Matt played with Alden so I could swim some...but 3/4 of a mile later, still no contractions or signs of labor. It was worth a shot!

Jessica and Miles came over that afternoon, and although it was way past naptime, Alden and Miles had a great time playing together. I had told her that he and/or Lydia would come to play with her, and she kept saying "Tomorrow, Mi-uls, play with you!" They shared popcorn and seemed to enjoy copying each other. It was good for Alden to have a friend to play with.

We took a walk after Alden's nap down to the pool, and she played for a while at the park. She rioted on the way back and wouldn't walk or ride in the stroller. We eventually just strapped her in and she tantrummed all the way back home. How pleasant.

Sunday, we went to another Baptist church in Apex. It was so much better and the pastor actually used scripture in his sermon! Alden cried some in the nursery, so I had to be summoned from the service towards the end. She said she missed me. It was really sweet.

Alden is addicted to Peter Pan right now. She had a book, and now she wants to watch the movie ALL the time. Amber was over yesterday, and would "fly" Alden on her feet. Alden kept saying "I'm Pee Pa". She "flies" around the house and thinks she is the real deal.

We set up the pack and play and bassinet yesterday night. Today, Alden discovered the pack and play downstairs, and we walked in to find her laying in it. Then, she climbed up on the changing thing, and wanted her diaper changed. It will be hard to keep her out of it when baby comes.

Alden and I spent our last day just us today. She actually slept until I woke her up at 8:45, which is unbelievable. We went to the library for storytime, and ran some errands. Then, she slept 2 1/2 hours this afternoon. I got some good rest, too. We all went to Goodberry's tonight for some pre-baby frozen custard. It was delicious, although Alden was in true 2 year old form, and didn't want to sit and eat, and threw a fit in the car on the way there, while we were eating and as we left. Apparently, "Blue", which had been one of her favorite passys, has fallen out of favor because she kept throwing him out of her carseat and refused to have anything to do with him.

A quick birthday shout-out to Leigh Anne! Happy Birthday!!!! We wish we could be celebrating with you and Eric!

A Week Late

Officially, Hudson is a week late. Men.

The watermelon we bought at the store the other day was about the same size as Hudson. Luckily, he doesn't weigh that much!


Mom and I walked this morning and took it easy today, playing with Alden's new legos and the Little People.

Matt and Alden reading the other night.

Matt and I walked Alden down to the park at the pool tonight. She did a lot of climbing, and wanted to go down the slides head-first, which is new. Then, she ran almost the whole way back. Every now and then, she would say "I'm tired, take a break", wait 5 seconds and keep going. She is nuts. Maybe it will mean good sleep tonight.

I am going to post a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks to make up for my picture-less posts this week. Maybe these will be the last ones without our baby boy!

We've been to the lake a couple times to feed the ducks. They love Cheerios. And apparently, so do turtles!

Alden reading her "Peter pa" book and riding her horse.

My Aunt Jeannette sent Hudson a blanket and a crown and boa for Princess Alna.

Still pregnant...

Went to the doctor this morning, and there is no change to report. I had a non-stress test, where they hooked me up to a fetal monitor and made sure that Hudson was tolerating life and that his heart-rate was rising when he moved or if I had a little contraction. He passed with flying colors. I had another ultrasound, too, and have plenty of fluid. Seems like everything is just peachy for him right now...obviously not in a hurry to get out.

Mom and I went to the big consignment sale in Raleigh after the doctor. We found some legos for Alden and a few winter things for Hudson. There was SO much there, but nothing we really needed.

Alden had a fun morning with Auntie Ashley, and walked all the way to the pool park and back. Ashley was really great to watch Alden. Alden LOVES having her here.

We are planning a menu tonight planned around labor-inducing foods...the internet said basil, oregano, and pineapple could help. I am willing to try anything!

Tomorrow may be castor oil day. Will keep you posted....