The Sonic Run

Mommy, Katelynn and baby Tyler have a new addiction. Well, maybe the addiction is mainly mommy's... and perhaps Katelynn's too. Sonic is walking distance from our house. In fact it is a perfect little tricycle ride for a pre-schooler. I have never really frequented Sonic, but recently I discovered their diet cherry limeades... which are also half price during happy hour from 2-4 pm.

Combine that with pretty weather, looong afternoons, a crying baby, and a bored little 3 year old girl... and we have been going nearly every day lately. Katelynn gets an ice cream dish for $1, and I get a half price large diet cherry limeade for $1 as well. We also all get some fresh air.

A Sonic Tale of Mommy-of-two-absentmindedness: The other day, we loaded up and headed out for our Sonic run. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get there with KK riding her glider or tricycle. We don't exactly fly there. I realized when we arrived that I had remembered nearly everything.... my iphone, sunglasses, diaper bag, wet wipes... but no money. No credit card. Aaagh! What was a mommy to do? I considered walking back home to get the money... then I just sucked it up and begged from the table next to us, a sweet little family much like ours with a preschooler girl and a baby boy. They were very charitable and gave us two dollars. I'm sure they could identify with my plight. KK was quite impressed by this.

Summary: Even when I do actually remember my own wallet, the Sonic Run is two dollars well spent!

My Preschool "Star"

Katelynn has homework now at preschool. I found that pretty funny the first night she brought it home. Really though it is a good idea. It is usually just a ten minute tracing and coloring exercise and it gets them used to the concept of work they have to take home. As a mom with a newborn and a preschooler I often forget about it till the morning of preschool. So this week when I opened it up at 8:15 am, 30 minutes before we had to leave, I wad a little panicked to learn that Katelynn was also the 'star of the week' which required additional time and effort I had not "budgeted" for that morning.

I went into Tasmanian devil mode and quickly fetched the required photos from a box of extras... thank goodness I had those around! Then I went through a 'questionnaire' with KK and learned some interesting things about my girl. I should ask he questions like this more often!

Members of her family: Mommy, Daddy, Katelynn. (We added baby Tyler when prompted by mommy!)

What she wants to be when she grows up: Doctor. (OK, I knew this one.)

Favorite sport: Soccer. (Ummmm so much for the ballet! Maybe we will try soccer next. Goodness knows there are many soccer opportunities here in Dallas.)

Hobbies: crafts, mopping, taking out the trash. (Laughing out loud. I have trained her well!)

Sibling Moments

I continue to be soooo thankful for Katelynn's overall wonderful adjustment to siblinghood. There have, however, been a couple of noteworthy, funny moments worth documenting...

Moment #1

Katelynn picked out a very girly, dainty ladybug costume for Halloween. It is actually more like a "ladybug fairy" because it is a frilly little dress - red satin with black polka dots - and antennae and velcro-on wings. She has been obsessed with wearing it around the house. She had it on the other day and I was getting after her about keeping it nice, not getting it ripped before Halloween, not eating in it, etcetera. I was being the nagging mom.

In the meantime, I changed baby boy's diaper and was walking back into the living room with him. KK was sitting on the ottoman and I brought Tyler over to her, intending to make him "talk" and "dance" for her and give her kisses. Next thing you know, Katelynn was covered in Tyler spit-up, including her ladybug dress. The boy had barely urped a teaspoon up until this point and now big sister was doused in the slimy mess.

Poor thing just sat there frozen for a second, then said in astonishment "Baby Tyler threw up on me!" I told her sit still and made a mad dash for a wet rag. She was so good - she just sat there looking a little wide-eyed until I got her cleaned up, and she never even acted resentful about the whole thing. Not even one tear! Wet rag + Febreze saved my rear and I thankfully don't have to buy a second costume!

Moment #2

Tyler has had some fussy days, as most newborns do. I think their poor little digestive systems are just so immature. One day last week he had been crying a lot. Mommy was frazzled and I think it was even getting on Katelynn's nerves. I was complaining to KK a lot about her fussy brother.

Toward the end of the day she asked me if he could go back into my tummy. I told her that was not possible. She then informed me: "Jesus is in my heart and he will have Tyler go back into your tummy if I ask him to."

Ahhh the faith of little children!

Nicknames

All babies must have their nicknames. Here are Tyler's so far:

Little man

LP2 (LittlePeanut2)

Poopy pants

Little bit

Sweet thing

I'm sure there will be many more to come.

Doula Plug

My friend Maria is a doula and she served as my doula during Tyler's birth. Now, a lot of people have never even heard the term doula so here's a basic definition I found on the web that sums it up pretty concisely: a woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period of time following the birth

This post is simply a shameless plug for Maria's services (Great Expectations Doula Services), especially if you are interested in going natural during childbirth. I ended up going natural with the birth of my first even though I tried to get an epidural. I have mild scoliosis that creates a small "s curve" at the base of my spine- which I had no idea would have any impact on my ability to receive an epidural... well Dr. Anaesthesiologist poked my back for over an hour during heavy contractions only to inform me at the end that "it didn't work." Later my hubby (who somehow watched the entire thing without ending up on the floor) informed me that I had been stuck in the back at least a dozen times in an attempt to get it in. I have since done a lot of reading on the internet to find many other women with scoliosis who had the same experience.

So I survived natural childbirth - imagine that! - and I wasn't too keen on having my back experimented on again. So for baby #2 I fully planned for natural childbirth, and having Maria's support was fabulous. I joked with her and my hubby that she does all the things you wish your husband knew to do during labor. However your poor husband has never in his life witnessed someone he loves in so much pain and truly doesn't know what to do. Maria is trained, experienced, calm, and extremely helpful... and she has a God-given talent and passion for her job. She was a great support and coach, and was able to provide lower back massage during contractions as well as suggest laboring positions, interact with the nurse, and provide lots of reassurance throughout that everything was proceeding normally.

Thanks Maria!

Big Sister

I must say, Katelynn's positive reaction to having a little brother has exceeded my wildest expectations. She has been such a sweet girl for the most part, at least when it comes to "baby Tyler" - her official name for her little bro. Now there have been a few ugly moments directed toward mommy, usually in the form of talking back and "having an attitude", but I am just happy that her brother has been spared. And come to think of it, we had those moments before Tyler was on the scene anyway...

The smile plastered on her face in this picture pretty much says it all. That is not her "fake" smile....she didn't wipe that cute expression off her face from the moment she walked into the hospital room and saw that - it was really true - mommy did really have a baby in her tummy all that time!

Since coming home I have attempted to use the never-ending feeding sessions to give her extra attention. Usually I read books to her or we work on her pre-school workbooks. Sometimes she gets to play games on my iPhone or watch a TV show. I think that has helped. It has also helped that Tyler is still sleeping a lot and that he is a much easier baby than she was. If he was as demanding as she was, we would have some serious issues in the Kim household right now trying to tend to both.

A big sister "funny moment" occurred a few nights ago. Tyler was not due to wake up for at least 45 more minutes and I was, for unknown reasons, lying in bed awake. So I decided I might as well get my shower. I was only a few minutes into shower time when I heard Tyler crying very loudly from the other room. (He sleeps in the living room right now.) Then KK came running into the room and informed me that "baby Tyler is crying, mommy." After some investigative questions I figured out that she had gone to "check on him" before coming to our room and had tried to shove a pacifier into his sleeping mouth. Well, if you have followed this blog at all you know that a pacifier is very near and dear to KK's heart. So we had a little talk about how that was very sweet, but please don't do that again if he is sleeping because it woke him up too early!

The only real problem we have had, which seems to be abating, is KK waking in the night. This is extremely frustrating especially since she used to be out like a rock the entire night and I have become very spoiled. Of course, the waking up typically falls exactly half way between Tyler's feedings. And of course, she really really really wants mommy and not daddy. However the other night she managed to have two night wakings and I thought I might completely lose my mind. So Gene and KK are both on notice that she gets daddy from now on if she decides to be up in the night. I think this must be how she is sub-consciously expressing her anxiety about not being the "only" anymore and I am sure it will be a passing phase, as just about all things seem to be with raising kids!

Tyler John

Our Tyler John finally made his entrance a couple of weeks ago! Since then, I have been enjoying life as "mom of 2" but it has been crazy - very little time for blogging! The highlights of little Tyler's entrance to the world and his life thus far:

• Labor was about the same length as Katelynn’s but I would have to rate it worse on the pain scale. Overall though – can’t complain about a 5 hour labor and a healthy baby at the end of it!
• He weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces, a bit less than his sis who weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. Since I gained about 5 pounds more with this pregnancy I guess that means I just get to KEEP all that extra weight for a bit!
• First night home from the hospital resulted in a trip to the Children's ER since Tyler thought it would be ok to skip peeing for 12 hours! Scary and exhausting night. 2 ounces of formula and we had a big wet diaper within 15 minutes. Hmmm did we really need an ER doc to think of that?!
• He is generally a calm little guy, at least compared to how his big sister was as a baby. THANK YOU GOD!
• We can't decide whether he resembles his big sis much or not yet. He seems to have his own look. Time will tell. In other news, big sister is doing great - which needs its own blog post another time.
• Overall I forgot how much I do love this "newborn phase." I truly don't mind the constant feeding, though I would like a little more sleep. I spend a lot of time admiring my sweet little guy. I am once again amazed how much I could love someone just minutes after meeting him!

And now, on with a few pictures...

Early labor - getting kisses from sweet KK, so excited to become a big sister. (You know it's early because I am still smiling and my hair is not soaking wet!)

Immediately after birth - with my fabulous OB, Dr. Jacoby.

With my sweet hubby.

Introducing our adorable little man...

Look ma! I can open my eyes! Just please don't give me a bath ever again!