Growing Right Along

Little Alex is becoming more and more alert every day. Such a cutie! I'm still amazed at how small he is compared to Ben but I can already tell he's growing so part of me is sad that this baby stage will be over before I know it. It seems like Ben was this age just yesterday. I know it gets better and better as they grow but there is something so special about having a little baby to cuddle, even at 3am when he won't let you go back to sleep!
Ben is still not a big fan of the intruder in the house, but he's at least friendlier these days. He's pretty generous with the kisses for little brother, but he's also quick to steal a pacifier or blanket if it catches his eye.

Here is how Ben really feels...this is a song of his own creation that I've heard several times over the past few days.

Ben is a huge fan of talking on the phone right now. He gets so many important calls that sometimes i have to pry my phone away when I want to make a call, or even worse, when I'm trying to answer the phone before he does!

Busy Days

I had no idea how fast the days can go when you're busy with two kids! And one is just eating, sleeping, and going through lots of diapers right now. Alex did have a busy week with several visitors and his first trip to the pediatrician who was also his neonatologist in the NICU. He got a great checkup and was back up to 3kg (about 6lbs 10oz) so he's regained his birthweight, which means he's eating well and growing. He also got his first vaccinations and cried his little eyes out, so he may not be as tough as his older brother who doesn't even flinch! We also took Alex to the US Embassy here to register our new citizen and get his passport. And good luck to anyone who needs to take passport photos of a newborn! He has to be awake, eyes open, looking at the camera, mouth closed, not crying, and no adult hands in the picture. Quite a challenge! Several people have asked if he'll be a dual citizen, but Singapore doesn't offer that option. He does have a Singaporean birth certificate now so that will be something fun for the baby book.

Ben is finally acting a little more normal and today we had our happy little guy back. I've really missed that smile and my funny boy! He's still not crazy about Alex but doesn't seem to hate him anymore, so we're making progress. It's good to see Ben back to his old habits, like raiding our closet.
He's been learning a lot of letters these days...maybe this is helping?

He's also found my makeup bag again and decided to try wearing eyeshadow one more time...


We made our first family outing yesterday to Ben's friend's birthday party and Ben had a great time playing. It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy some adult company but we only stayed an hour just in case little Alex woke up early.


Just a few other pictures from the past week. I thought this was really cute...looks like our boys like to relax in the same position!

Mama and baby Alex

This baby chair is also a toddler rocker, but Ben showed no interest in it until Alex started sleeping in it. Now where does he want to kick back?

Sweet little guy is just full of smiles when he's falling asleep!

Ben's imagination is really taking off these days. He was feeding Daddy from his new cup this afternoon. It's so much fun to see his creativity developing.

Brothers

Ben is slowly acknowledging the presence of his little brother, but I think this is going to be a long process! He seems to think that ignoring the problem will make it disappear, but in this case that's not going to work. Sometimes he even ignores me if I have Alex in my arms.

It's really different having a true newborn at home compared to Ben when we first brought him home because Alex pretty much just eats and sleeps. Ben was already staying awake for several hours at a time when he came home and he had been on a strict eating schedule for so long that he rarely got hungry at different hours. I'm still trying to figure out what kind of eating schedule Alex is on because it's changing every day. Today has been every 2-3 hours so I'm hoping he'll go longer tonight or else I'll never get any sleep! So far he doesn't cry much unless he's really hungry and impatient while I'm changing his diaper. And in the bath. That doesn't seem to be a favorite activity just yet and the little guy pooped in it first thing last night just to show his disapproval.

Yesterday we made our first outing to the playground and Alex just slept away in the stroller.

Ben was having fun pushing his shopping cart around....

....until he noticed that someone new was in his stroller. Ben made a big deal about buckling the belt while completely ignoring Alex.

This was as close as Ben would get today. He was getting ready to go to the pool so I laid Alex next to him to see if he'd react.

Ben checked him out a little but wouldn't say hi or touch the baby. Now that we have such a little person at home, I'm just amazed at how big Ben has grown. His hands and feet just seem huge to me now and I realize how much he's turned into a little boy instead of a baby. It's happened so fast!

Night 1 and Day 2

I wish I could say our first night went great, but it wasn't what I hoped! Ben, who normally sleeps 12 uninterrupted hours at night, woke up 8 times for no apparent reason. Alex woke up several times, which of course we expected, but always fell asleep before he finished feeding so he didn't sleep well either. All the interruptions happened at different times, so I think both boys conspired to keep us awake as much as possible and really initiate us into life with a newborn and toddler.

Today went much better. Ben went to preschool this morning and we went to the doctor for my checkup. This afternoon everyone got a good nap, so we were all in much better moods. Alex has been more alert when he's awake so he's eaten better today and hopefully that will continue overnight.

Ben is really taking this competition pretty hard! He told me he doesn't like the baby and he's still doing his best to ignore Alex at every opportunity. He did give Alex his blanket earlier but then ran right back and took it away like that was a terrible decision. Poor Ben has been overreacting at meaningless things, like me shutting the door to the bathroom so I have 30 seconds of privacy - in that time he started sobbing and was nearly inconsolable when I got out. His temper has been really apparent, too. But I think these pictures really say it all....

"I'll try my best to be good!"

"Forget this kid....I'm outta here!!"We hate to see Ben so upset but he doesn't have a lot of choice except to learn to deal with a new face around the house! I think things will get much better once I'm more active and can physically play more with him.

Party of 4!

Alex came home today!
I tried not to get too excited just in case anything came up at the last minute to keep him in the hospital but when we arrived this morning they said the paperwork had been done and he was ready to go! I got one last chance to nurse him with some help around, then we dressed little Alex and got ready to leave.

He was not a big fan of his carseat...

One last picture before we left. It was a very nice NICU, just one big room with several babies. We happened to have friends from Texas who have twins in there right now so we got to visit with them and share our experiences, which was nice. Overall it was a great place for Alex to spend a week if he couldn't be at home but I sure hope we're done with NICUs from now on!

Making the big ride home!

Still asleep in the elevator...

And finally home! Ben did not know what to make of the new visitor and he was not coming any closer to check it out. He said "night, night" so he realized the baby was sleeping but wouldn't have anything to do with him. The rest of the afternoon he just completely ignored Alex, but Ben and Daddy went to the pool and to pick up dinner so he still got plenty of attention.
And this is pretty much how Alex spent the rest of his day....sound asleep! It was hard for us to put him down since this is the first chance we've really had to enjoy him and I think he was pretty happy having some peace and quiet and a warm body to sleep against.

What a precious boy!

Ben wanted to take more pictures so I helped a little. I'm not sure how he's doing with all this but he did give Alex a kiss goodnight before he went to bed. Hopefully with me at least being home now, even if I'm preoccupied, Ben will settle down a little. He's been very short-tempered and emotional the past few days like he already knew things had changed.

And tonight, little Alex is still sound asleep! I've tried my best to wake him several times to eat but after 10-15 minutes he's sacked out again. Hopefully he'll have a healthy appetite tomorrow to put some more weight on that little body. I forgot how tiny babies are...Ben just amazes me at how big he is now in comparison.

It's been a very happy day at this household :) We have a beautiful new baby to enjoy and he was definitely worth the wait. And this time around we don't have to worry about oxygen, monitors, medicine, reflux, therapy, or any other preemie-related issues. We feel so blessed and thank God for our perfect new addition.

A Big Day

It's hard being a newborn! First people interrupt your nice naps...

...and then they expect you to look at the camera...

...and even hope for you to smile. It's a lot of work.

Little did Alex know that the worst was yet to come...
"Do you have any idea what they just did to me?!?"
I was privileged to sit in on the circumcision procedure...definitely not for the faint-hearted and probably something I could have lived without, but at least I got to hold Alex's hands and hopefully comfort him a little. Glad we got that over with because it's definitely not something you want a little boy to remember!

Other than that, Alex had a good day and looks ready to come home as early as Sunday!

Sunbathing

This was the sight that greeted me this morning when I got in the NICU...little Alex was sacked out suntanning under the phototherapy lights with his shades on. He looks much better but was going to spend one more night under the lights just to make sure the jaundice completely resolved. Even better news today was that they disconnected his IV (but left the catheter in, just in case) so he's getting full feeds of breastmilk. I went to the hospital twice to give him a chance to nurse and he ate like a little champ! He definitely has a good appetite and caught on quickly to the whole work-for-food idea. It was very encouraging to me because I have no experience in this department since Ben was several months old by the time he was big enough to nurse and he didn't have the energy to get through a meal, so I pumped and bottle-fed him for 6 months. I'm really hoping to cut out the middle man this time.

Here are Daddy and Alex hanging out together after he had his dinner.


The doctor has been very pleased with Alex's progress this week and thinks he'll be ready for home very soon. We've scheduled his circumcision for tomorrow, which they consider a major procedure and want to observe him for a few days afterward, so it would be Sunday at the earliest. It's just not common to circumcise here so it's performed by a pediatric urologist and apparently westerners are the only ones who ask for it first thing. Personally, I think the longer we wait the more cruel it would be so the sooner we get it done the better! Hopefully it will be quick and as painless as possible.

And no, we haven't forgotten about Ben! Poor little guy is definitely not getting the attention he's used to these days but he's been really patient with all the changes, even though he doesn't realize the biggest change is still to come. He talks about "baby Anex" (he's still working on his l's) because he got to see him in the NICU quickly so hopefully when we talk about bringing little brother home he knows who were talking about. I really look forward to watching Ben get to know his little brother.

Here are some pictures from last week that I never got to share. Ben and I had a playground and lunch date and he had a terrific time jumping into the ball pit.



Last Friday I asked him to put on his shoes for school and this is what I got...I guess I need to be more specific and let him know that pants are required as well!

Talking to Daddy at dinnertime...

And this was our last family outing as a threesome, although we didn't know it at the time! I never made it home from this park because I went straight to the hospital.


And if you're wondering why Ben's clothes look so big, it's because they're all size 3's. He's still in 18-24 month clothes for the most part, depending on how they're cut, but he found a drawer of hand-me-downs from his friend Oliver and decided he was going to wear this outfit no matter what! Besides having to pull the pants up over and over, I guess it didn't hurt anything :)