Lets train

I know I can't update on every single day of Porter's life, but the first week is SO eventful and full of memories I don't want to forget in the blur that it will likely become. This is not going to be full of any deep thoughts or insightful glimpses into the life with three kids, but more of a simple re-telling of events. The emotions and thoughtfulness will come again some day, I hope;)

The second evening and night in the hospital was a good one. Tony and Lois came after my Mom and Dad came, and then Nate brought both kids back with him after they allll napped at home that day. Truman felt better and was very eager to see Porter again, so even though we weren't sure if he was sick or not we just made him stay away from breathing on P-man's face. We ordered pizza and had a ball as a big group. Needless to say, these four grandparents are freaking GOD SENDS to us right now.





(my camera is acting really weird for white balance indoors. Super annoying.)


The guys


Big sis


My THREE kids!



Anyway. The second night (Saturday) was good. Nate went back home that night since he truly slept horribly on Friday night with the little pull out couch in my room. He helped with bedtime and everyone got good sleep at home.

I had one of my favorite nurses from Cecelia's birth, Melissa, that night and I loved chatting with her about life while it was just me and Porter in the room. She happily took him to the nursery for me that night around 11, brought him back at 1:30 to nurse, then took him back until 5 am. GLORIOUS. She said he was doing great and was adorable (duh).

Sunday morning, Nate came with Collectivo coffee and a muffin for me, plus we ordered room service for their amazing breakfast sandwiches. YUM. Yet another reason I am obsessed with this hospital is that the nutrition department also sent up a little cup of cookies saying 'congrats on the new baby boy!'. Yes.





We ate, I showered, Porter got his state newborn screening blood test done (hated it), and we visited with the Pediatrician as he gave Porter a glowing report before he discharge him. I mentioned that P is spitting up a lot, my milk came in right after the 24 hour mark, and so I felt like Porter was kind of adjusting to that.



Side note: holy engorgement. I knew my milk came in soon last time with C, and I'm sure nursing her until 16 months and getting pregnant weeks after weaning just means my tats know what to do. But wow. Insane. By the 48 hour mark I was totally uncomfortable, and today---day 3---it's a little out of control. VERY out of control, painful, gigantic, etc etc. More on that in a 'recovery' post someday.

After the Ped came through, my OB came in to discharge me. I love her so much and Nate does, too. She talked with us for about an hour about everything and nothing, mostly about her kids and our kids;) We thanked her for being so amazing because I feel like she made this third experience the best it's ever been (more in the birth story later) and honestly, would like to have a fourth child just to have my OB lead the way again. Nate loves when I say things like that.



Another nurse that I love, Vanessa---she saw me through Truman's birth, discharged us after that. I requested the standard 'leaving from the hospital shot' from her and we were off!



Oh, I wanted Porter to wear this adorable bow tie/cardigan onesie my mom made him for his going home outfit. But alas, I'm not used to having an 8+ pound baby and it didn't fit over his head;( Newborn sizes are usually fine for now but this one was especially tight, so we went with another back up outfit and he looked just as adorable.

He loves to hold the paci in his mouth for us!




We got home around noon on Sunday. The kids and my parents were so happy to see us and for how much I love the hospital stay itself, coming home was pretty freaking amazing, too. Porter got to rock in his MamaRoo a bit, I unpacked, we visited and I got a great nap on the couch with mom and Porter. That night Lois and Tony came over with the BEST meal ever. Love having family support us and help out (again: God sends!)

Signs all over the house, made by the kids and Gogo!







Note the BEER!!!!!


The first night with Porter was pretty.....rough. I think the combination of my milk being in and being so much for him to handle, plus me trying to keep him in the co sleeper without holding him a ton (his favorite) made for an extra hard time. We all went to bed around 10 but Porter did not fall asleep until 1:00. He was awake at 2:00. GAH. I fed him, and I'd change him, but he just kept getting antsy and refusing to sleep. I finally had Nate turn off the AC around 3 am because I thought he was cold. He wanted to nurse but didn't want to nurse and eventually I had to take him into the nursery to rock on the glider a bit. He fell back to sleep around 5 am and we both woke up at 8---I basically held him and let him be in bed with me for that entire time. Breaking the rules already, I know.





Today is Monday--his fourth day of life and of course, since he partied all night, he was sleepy all day long. As I type this, he has been snoozing in the MamaRoo for 3 hours without a peep. Why didn't he sleep like this last night? Silly babies. But I got a shower, brushed my teeth, and even napped so I'm calling it a great day. The kids and I have had a ball with Mom and Dad today. It was incredibly sad to see them go tonight, though. Truman cried the most he's ever cried saying, 'I'm going to miss Popo and Gogo, I don't want them to leave. I'm sad.' So I cried, too. Truman wouldn't let go of me, CC wouldn't let go of me, and we were all just a mess. Ugh. My dad and Tony held it together for us, of course, and Tony took them to the airport. But it's just hard to see my parents go. Mom comes back in 10 days so we are trying to focus on that.





I know Nate must have been SO tired at work today but he is off on Tuesday and Thursday for this week AND next week. LOVE this set up so much. So tomorrow Nate and I will take Porter to the Pediatrician while Tony stays with the big kids.

I can't wait to get into a new rhythm with Porter---especially at night. But I know these early days will just be pure chaos and weird, so I'm trying to roll with it. He is the best baby and SO stinking cute. He takes a pacifier like a champ, unlike his sister ever did at this age, and is really quite chill during this super sleepy phase. I sort of forgot what it's like to worry your baby is sleeping TOO much during the day and probably should wake him up now to feed him. Lord help us tonight. And help my boobs not to explode.



A few other things I don't want to forget:

-Both kids have been sprinting over to the swing randomly, kissing Porter on his feet and head. No reason other than, 'We love Porter, mom.'



-CC tells me 'I like him.' She was fascinated that he could move, really likes to watch him nurse, and is carrying around a ziploc bag of pacifiers for him to use at some point. Oh boy.



-Mom made cupcakes with the kids, after I suggested we have a little birthday party for Porter. Obviously, this was a big hit.



-Truman regularly tells me, 'I love Porter so much mommy. I'm glad he came out. I love my family.' Yes, emotions are running high around here. He also asked, 'How do your boobs make milk?' Ha.



-The kids love Porter's belly button cord. They have heard his newborn poops and think it's hilarious that he goes so often. The like to fight over who gives him the pacifier. Such big helpers I have!





-CC has had a few extra clingy moments to me, where she wants to sit right next to me (on top of me?) while nursing, but nothing too bad just yet. We will see how she is now that mom is gone. They are quite the pair.

So far, so good. As Nate said last night, 'There is just something about having the baby here, healthy, happy.....it's the best.' Right on, Nate ;)

To say that we've done a lot of work and a lot of decorating/furnishing on our main level is an understatement. Lots of pictures in this one, hope it doesn't slow down the ol' blog too much!

Family room:
We are LOVING this long, skinny room that serves as our family room/office area. Ta Da!!







Let me back up a bit and go into detail before I get to the classic 'before & after' shots. One thing I really wanted (why do I feel like I've typed that phrase a lot lately?) was a new couch for our new house. Our old couches have served us very well for the past 7 years, since I got them right when I graduated with my masters in 2005. Those babies have seen enough dog/baby poop and dog/baby barf to last a lifetime. We splurged on this new 'L-shaped' beauty that provides us with about twice as much seating compared to our old overstuffed couch and loveseat combo. I really wanted a dark gray couch this time but the khaki on this fabric was too pretty to pass up. And I think dark gray with the blue walls and rug would have been too many cool tones. At first I was going to get an Ikea couch but we ended up finding this one at a local store in Milwaukee called Colder's and I know the name brand is called England.

Although we custom chose 4 throw pillows to come with our couch, I ended up hating them. And so I had to go and buy a ton of new ones at Target, Pier 1, and also Bed/Bath/Beyond. Poor me, right? Um, SO MUCH FUN!!


We started with the chevron rug, then painted the walls and woodwork and ceiling. After the couch arrived and I chose the throw pillows, I picked out navy panel curtains from Target to make our official color scheme Blue & Yellow. Love it. Also love the gunmetal curtain rods from Target and the fun new lamps we bought there, too.

And can I just say that I LOVE having a mantel to decorate? I feel like this is going to change around a lot over time. And I love having enough space to really display all of my family photo albums. The mantel before and after:


And the main part of the family room, before and after (but we still have to get those navy Roman shades up over the two bare windows---can you picture how pulled together it will be then?)


Side view, where you can walk into the dining room or up to the stairs, or into the kitchen. And yes, all of my picture frames are blank now. Waiting on a shipment of new prints that I ordered! :


And the back wall, right where the front door comes in. We are using this little area as an office and I still love having our main computer in our main room:



Projects completed on this room:
Refinished floors
painted all walls
painted ceiling
painted crown molding and all woodwork white
bought new 8x10 rug
bought couch/pillows
bought all panels/curtain rods (goodbye hideous heavy draperies!)
bought all new faux white wood blinds
bought new lamps
hung TV and picture frames
organized crazy cords coming from said TV

Projects left to complete in family room:
get mom's last set of navy Roman shades hung near mantel
purchase a new office chair
put pictures in frames



Sunroom:

This is basically one giant playroom for Truman and his future sister. We love having this extra space to confine toys and let T go nuts in his own little domain. Ta Da!







Those green paneled curtains are something my mom and Aunt whipped up when they visited, after I purchased the fabric at 50% off at Joanns. And Nate is super excited to have a second TV in our home, since we've always been a one-TV family. I really love how it all turned out!

Projects completed in sunroom:
refinished floors
painted all walls and ceiling
painted crown molding and all woodwork white
bought new faux wood blinds
bought fabric to make curtain panels
bought curtain rods
bought new TV
bought baskets for existing shelves to store toys
bought rug

Projects left to do:
paint and hang French doors
buy two nice upholstered chairs for adult seating (since the random dining room chair and lounge chair aren't cutting it)


Dining Room:

Love having a big, formal dining room with tons of storage in that built-in buffet!







I have asked my grandpa to make us a new, bigger oak dining room table so we are using our existing one right now without any problems. We have been able to seat 7 adults and one kid for a few big dinners so far which is so much fun! And I scored those six amazing oak dining chairs for only $100 on Craigslist, and I plan to recover them from the existing cream into a fun print---our custom Pepaw table will be made to match these chairs. Our buffet gets used as a storage area a lot so I want to get some organizing bins to set up there but it works for now. And I have big plans for those ugly roll up shades on our pretty little windows, too. Anyone ever try to use fabric to cover existing roll up shades? I think it would be so pretty to have a printed, colored fabric up there.

Projects completed in dining room:
refinished floors
painted walls
painted crown molding and woodwork white (keeping buffet natural---you are welcome:) )
took down ugly drapes and all hardware over buffet

Projects to complete:
spray paint chandelier silver, get rid of ugly glass shades
get new table, new tablecloth?
reupholster dining room chairs into a fun pattern
cover little windows with fabric roll ups or just do more Roman shades:)
Buy two or three giant canvases of our family to hang on empty wall by kitchen


Half bath:
Love having an extra bathroom! This one was added in the 1970s by the previous owners, thank goodness, or we'd be stuck going up and down steps every time we have to go. Nate has done a ton of work on this baby, as you can see:


And a during shot, plus an up-close shot of my fave St. Lucia poster. Could our honeymoon really have been 5 years ago??


Projects completed in half bath:
tore up linoleum floors
laid and grouted new tile (had to re-do the grout once after a frustrating experience with pre-mixed thinset)
painted all walls a bright 'Harbor' blue by Behr
added all wainscotting
bought new faucet (attempted to buy a new sink but they don't make them small enough anymore and we have to be able to shut our door!)
bought new mirror
bought new cabinet
spray painted black frame white to add our St. Lucia print
bought new TP holder and towel holder (that is really a robe hook---love it!)

Projects left to do:
get new above sink light

So that is it! Besides our kitchen which is going to get it's own reveal post once a few final projects are completed. I can't believe how much work we've done in this house since we bought it in February. And we've only lived here for 1 month? Insane. Feels like it's been our home forever.