We just returned from Jack's one month check-up. Of course he woke up this morning with one eye swollen and gunked shut. I guess it was actually perfect timing so that we didn't have to bring him in separately to the doctor just for the eye. Turns out it is a clogged tear duct, apparently very common in babies. Normally it would just resolve itself, but since his eye is also kind of swollen the doc decided to give us a prescription for an antibiotic ointment. Fun stuff, smearing ointment in a wriggly newborn's eye!
The normal check-up part of the visit went well. He is growing like crazy! Although he was 8lbs 12oz when he was born, at his one week check-up he was only 8lbs 4oz. Well, a mere three weeks later he weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 12oz. He gained 2 1/2 lbs in three weeks! That is exciting stuff - especially since he was so sleepy in the beginning that I was waking him up to eat and even then he would only eat for about 5 minutes at a stretch.
I don't recall the other stats off the top of my head (they are written down in a folder which I left in the car and am too tired/lazy to go get right now). The doc was impressed by his growth though, so I'm happy! I'll try to get the camera out in a little bit when he wakes up and take some 1month photos to post.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Last Day of School
Katherine, Jack and I attended Katherine's last day of "school" today. She has been attending a toddler transition class since the fall and after a few weeks off, her last day was today. It is sort of a precursor to pre-school (funny, huh). During the fall I went with her both Tuesday and Wednesday. After the holiday break I was able to drop her off on Tuesdays and continued to attend with her on Wednesdays for music class, etc.
It really was a great way to introduce her to the concept of school and let her get used to being dropped off at school, confident that I would indeed actually pick her up at the end of class (a mere hour and a half later). She got to practice her sharing skills (or not), began to learn how to define limits for herself and her peers, and ultimately introduced her to conflict management on her level.
The class also helped develop life skills through actual use. When we arrived, the kids were encouraged to take off their coats and hang them up on the hooks on one wall of the room and take off their shoes and place them under their coat on the floor. The parents each signed up for a week to bring the snack (we were given loose guidelines, but all tried pretty hard to keep it healthy and natural if not organic). Before snack was served the kids had to stand in line at the sink to wash and dry their hands (with a little assistance).
When snack was served the kids all had to set their own place at the table (bowl, cup, spoon/fork, and napkin) and were encouraged to learn to serve themselves (it was generally served family style so they could spoon their own fruit out of a common bowl or use the tongs to get their own cheese or turkey out of a bowl being passed around). They were also charged with cleaning up after themselves (taking their bowls to another table, emptying the leftover food into a garbage bag, placing dirty napkins on a tray, and putting their dirty dishes into a dishpan full of soapy water).
She really got a lot out of that class! This fall she will move on to her first year of pre-school. I am excited for the new opportunity and look forward to watching her learn and grow. I thought I would be more hesitant about her going to pre-school three days a week, but I am impressed with the school she will be attending and think that two hours three days a week will be good for her. Afterall, due to when her birthday falls she will have to attend three years of pre-school before moving on to Kindergarten.
Now I have these first steps to look forward to with Jack as well!
It really was a great way to introduce her to the concept of school and let her get used to being dropped off at school, confident that I would indeed actually pick her up at the end of class (a mere hour and a half later). She got to practice her sharing skills (or not), began to learn how to define limits for herself and her peers, and ultimately introduced her to conflict management on her level.
The class also helped develop life skills through actual use. When we arrived, the kids were encouraged to take off their coats and hang them up on the hooks on one wall of the room and take off their shoes and place them under their coat on the floor. The parents each signed up for a week to bring the snack (we were given loose guidelines, but all tried pretty hard to keep it healthy and natural if not organic). Before snack was served the kids had to stand in line at the sink to wash and dry their hands (with a little assistance).
When snack was served the kids all had to set their own place at the table (bowl, cup, spoon/fork, and napkin) and were encouraged to learn to serve themselves (it was generally served family style so they could spoon their own fruit out of a common bowl or use the tongs to get their own cheese or turkey out of a bowl being passed around). They were also charged with cleaning up after themselves (taking their bowls to another table, emptying the leftover food into a garbage bag, placing dirty napkins on a tray, and putting their dirty dishes into a dishpan full of soapy water).
She really got a lot out of that class! This fall she will move on to her first year of pre-school. I am excited for the new opportunity and look forward to watching her learn and grow. I thought I would be more hesitant about her going to pre-school three days a week, but I am impressed with the school she will be attending and think that two hours three days a week will be good for her. Afterall, due to when her birthday falls she will have to attend three years of pre-school before moving on to Kindergarten.
Now I have these first steps to look forward to with Jack as well!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Happy Memorial Weekend
Happy Memorial Weekend from the Kanary clan! We are enjoying a beautiful weekend here in Cincinnati. Great weather, great friends, and some family time. I can't believe Jack is almost four weeks old. The time has gone by in a bit of a blur, but we are enjoying him and having a great time with Katherine in her new role as big sister.
Since Jack sleeps so much during the day still, we have taken to laying down for family naps (at least Katherine, Jack, and I) in the afternoon. It gets Katherine to take a much-needed nap and gives me the opportunity to recharge (which I desperately need by mid-afternoon). I am so greatful for our king-sized bed because it facilitates moments like these. The other day I woke up sandwiched between my two kids - it was a really sweet moment. Neither of them had woken up yet so I had a minute to just stare at the two of them. They are just the two most adorable kids in the world!
Contrast that moment with one I had a day or so later. James had been out of town for at least 36 hours so I had had at least one day (and night) of solo parenting so my nerves were understandibly a little raw. I swear I felt like I was in a commercial for bubble bath or something...I was holding a very grumpy Jack, bouncing him up and down in an attempt to calm him down, and Katherine was running in circles around me singing at the top of her lungs. It was hysterical - I couldn't help but laugh.
I wish you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day! Make the most of the day off (if you get it). :)
Since Jack sleeps so much during the day still, we have taken to laying down for family naps (at least Katherine, Jack, and I) in the afternoon. It gets Katherine to take a much-needed nap and gives me the opportunity to recharge (which I desperately need by mid-afternoon). I am so greatful for our king-sized bed because it facilitates moments like these. The other day I woke up sandwiched between my two kids - it was a really sweet moment. Neither of them had woken up yet so I had a minute to just stare at the two of them. They are just the two most adorable kids in the world!
Contrast that moment with one I had a day or so later. James had been out of town for at least 36 hours so I had had at least one day (and night) of solo parenting so my nerves were understandibly a little raw. I swear I felt like I was in a commercial for bubble bath or something...I was holding a very grumpy Jack, bouncing him up and down in an attempt to calm him down, and Katherine was running in circles around me singing at the top of her lungs. It was hysterical - I couldn't help but laugh.
I wish you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day! Make the most of the day off (if you get it). :)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Due Date
Ha! Yesterday was Jack's actual due date. How funny, I have only met one person who gave birth on their assigned due date. Apparently very few women give birth on their baby's due date. So, you spend your entire pregnancy with the due date on the horizon. If you go early you either feel unprepared or lucky. If you go late, you are usually fairly miserable. Just one of the many things they don't tell you about pregnancy. Like the fact that pregnancy is 10 months, not 9 (on your due date you are supposed to be 40 weeks along). But, I digress....
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Settling In
It has been a week since my last post - shame on me! We have had a pretty good week. We are slowly settling in somewhat. I know that things will change again once James is back at work full time (i.e. travelling overnight). We've gotten pretty good at the whole divide and conquer thing. We'll see how I do solo when the time comes!
On Tuesday Jack had his first check-up with our pediatrician. Everything went well. He is gaining weight and everything looks good. He was still a little yellow, but the doctor wasn't concerned enough to do a blood test to check his bilirubin levels. So, we'll just go back for his one month check-up as usual.
On Tuesday Jack had his first check-up with our pediatrician. Everything went well. He is gaining weight and everything looks good. He was still a little yellow, but the doctor wasn't concerned enough to do a blood test to check his bilirubin levels. So, we'll just go back for his one month check-up as usual.
After the pediatrician's visit we decided to head over to Sharon Woods park to let Katherine play on the toddler playground. We had such a nice afternoon! Katherine played for quite a while, then discovered the lake. She and James went exploring and came back with an intense desire to go out in a boat. So, we took Jack for his first ride in a paddle boat! I was a little freaked out at first - Jack can't even hold his head up very well, let alone keep his head above water or wear a life jacket of his own. But, I reasoned that a paddle boat probably had a fairly small risk of capsizing. It was a nice boat ride. Luckily James was up for doing all of the paddling (I'm still not quite up to speed) and Katherine was more than happy to help steer.
We saw ducks, fish, and turtles. Despite the many signs admonishing visitors not to feed the wildlife, the ducks were clearly expecting an afternoon snack from us. Three of them swam happily toward us quacking their requests for bread or something like it. We were sorry to disappoint them, but we didn't want to contribute to their delinquency.
After our paddle boat ride (Katherine was done after about 25 minutes) we went back to the playground. Katherine quickly made friends with another little girl. She did find it hard to keep up sometimes since her new friend was twice her age and a little more capable on the bigger slides. We finally had to tear her away in hopes that she would take a (very) late nap. It was a really nice day. Here is a picture from my cell phone of the harbor area of the lake.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Proud Papas
I almost forgot! I just had to post these pictures together. Jarmo and Kiiki are friends of ours over in Finland. Jarmo sent us a photo of he and his son Eetu that is strikingly similar to one of James and Jack. So, I couldn't resist posting the pictures of two proud dads with their sons!
Day 2...still standing
We had a nice evening as a family, eating very yummy food (thanks Lisa) and watching a movie together before bed.
Katherine went down fairly well, but did wake up at least once. Jack on the other hand wasn't keen on the whole sleep for more than 20 minutes thing so I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked. Oh well, he has made up for it today. We had a few stretches of a couple of hours where he was asleep (thus so was I) and almost the entire house is asleep right now. Such is the life of a newborn!
Katherine went down fairly well, but did wake up at least once. Jack on the other hand wasn't keen on the whole sleep for more than 20 minutes thing so I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked. Oh well, he has made up for it today. We had a few stretches of a couple of hours where he was asleep (thus so was I) and almost the entire house is asleep right now. Such is the life of a newborn!
Pictures of Our Homecoming
As promised, here are some photos of us coming home yesterday afternoon.
Leaving the hospital
Katherine welcomes us home
Her first look at "her baby"
Being a helpful big sister by putting on Jack's hat
Grandpa K holding his newest grandchild (#8)Thursday, May 1, 2008
We're Home!
I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the well-wishes (and great comments)! We were released from the hospital around lunch today and are settling in at home as a new family of four. Katherine was excited to see us when we got out of the car and has been very interested in her baby brother. She has been helpful and kind (even offering Jack some of her popcorn tonight).
I will post more pictures later (hopefully tomorrow). Pray for a decent night's sleep for all in the Kanary Nest!
I will post more pictures later (hopefully tomorrow). Pray for a decent night's sleep for all in the Kanary Nest!
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