Ughhhh I hate taking my little man to get painful procedures done. We saw a geneticist a few weeks back and today it was time to get the bloodwork they wanted done after they saw the MRI. They did 3 tests- one for Fragile X Syndrome, one for NF and one that looks at his whole genome. We had to go all the way to Bethesda so all four of us packed up and headed to Walter Reed. We had to wait a while to go back and I know he had no idea what was coming but I did and it was torture. You would think as many times as we have had to do stuff like this, it would get easier- I'd have an easier time remembering that he would be completely fine 10 minutes after but it's not. Every time I feel like I'm tricking him and I feel sad that most of his peers have never had blood drawn or MRIs or EEGs. So I was glad Zachary could go. He was able to play with him in this cool bus they had in the waiting room. This little girl was really into Liam- rubbing his hair and holding his hand. Liam played it cool sippin' on his juice.
He also showcased his climbing skills and sat in this chair all by himself and Malia slept.
I was going to let just Zachary go back with Liam but the geneticist said the more reinforcements, the better so unhappily went back. I saw the six vials they had to fill laid out on the table and asked if they reallyyyyyyyyy needed me and they said no so I got to leave. Well- hindsight being 20/20, I should have stayed in. The what seemed like million times he screamed out were not a million sticks like I thought but him just being mad they were holding him down. They did have to stick him 3 times in different places because the blood would just stop flowing but Zachary said he did really great with the actual bloodwork- he just hated being held down. Anyways- it is over and hopefully this is the last bloodwork we will have to get done in a long, long time.
On a side note- here's miss sassy lips after we got home:
So I'm an advocate of hairbows because at this age, it's hard to tell if a baby is a boy or girl just by glancing at them and so many times people don't take the time to look at the color the baby is wearing so a headband is a quick way to say- "Hey! I'm a girl!" Malia doesn't have a ton of hair- still more than a lot of babies- but not quite enough for some of the hairbows she has but this one didn't require a lot and I thought it was just too cute.
Where did the last month go?! My goodness. I love this little girl more than I thought imaginable. She is such. a. good. baby. This girl sleeps on a pretty reliable schedule and doesn't have colic. Her acid reflux episodes are gone and she is just such a joy. She cries when she's hungry, wants to be changed or wants to be held. Well, and from about 11-12:30 pretty much every night for no apparent reason but compared to Liam, it's definitely an improvement. I love Liam more than words can say but his infancy was pretty tough so I'm thankful that Malia's habits are a little more conducive to a normal person's lifestyle than Liam's were. I love that she loves to be held. I love this little sound she makes that I still haven't caught on video but definitely need to- there's no way to describe it- I have to capture it so I can always hear it. I love that she tolerates her big brother and his clumsy high fives that don't always end up landing on her hands and his sloppy kisses. I love that Liam is such a pro at being a big brother- he loves his little sister and that's really all that matters. What a blessed momma I am!
With Liam we would write "I'm ___ months old" on a piece of paper with the date and once he got to a certain age he started playing with the paper and it was hard to get a shot in which you could read the words so this go 'round, we're going to use wooden numbers. Anyways- here's a side by side of both of my babies at one month:
... They don't really look anything alike haha
And here's Liam today- brushing his teeth with Dad before bed
One of the main challenges I'm facing when home alone with two under two is during times when I have to pump. I can put Malia on the bed and feed her or help her with her pacifier but having Liam up on the bed too doesn't ever work- I can't be available enough to feel Malia is safe and even if I did, the likelihood of him staying on the bed is slim to none so I'd have to disconnect from the pump and go make sure he was safe himself. So I pump when Liam is napping but having to pump every 3 hours at least, sometimes I have to leave him in his high chair or in his room with some toys. In this picture, I had left him in his room with his toys but came in to see him doing this:
I had this out for Malia when we were all three in Liam's room. When this was Liam's toy, he had no interest in it all. Better late than never?
When we first introduced these two, Liam was a little less gentle than we had hoped but he really has taken more of an interest in his little sister and has shown much more restraint when close to her. My hope for these two is that they will grow up being the best of friends and will maintain that relationship forever. In order to do what we can to help that happen, we think it's important to have as little tension present when they are close to each other and to give Liam as many chances as we can to see her, touch her, kiss her, whatever he feels like doing. So here's some pictures from a Tuesday night snuggle session:
So before I show this picture, let me share a link.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-west/smart-bedsharing-gives-br_b_5662733.html
So yes- sometimes Malia sleeps in the bed with us because if we put her in the pack 'n' play she will cry and cry and cry and I think it would take her an hour or more to finally go to sleep. If I put her in bed with me, she falls asleep immediately. For my sanity and for both of my kids' well-beings, me getting more sleep is a good thing.
That being said- Zachary snapped this picture of me and Malia snoozing this morning.
One of the best things we can do as this new family of four is to go for a walk. When Liam is cranky and Malia is fussy- taking a walk is the way to go. We either put Liam in the jogging, single stroller and I put Malia in the baby carrier or we put them in the double stroller. Either way, both enjoy the fresh air. This day we walked down to this little scenic overlook of the Severn River and let barefoot Liam out of the stroller to walk around a little bit. I thought these pictures were too cute.
Poor little Liam :( In order to wean him off of his seizure medicine (which we are not great about giving him anyway) Liam's neurologist wanted us to get a clean EEG, MRI and bloodwork. The EEG wasn't too big of a deal but the MRI was a different story. I stayed at home with Malia and Zachary and Liam headed off to Bethesda. He was getting blood work done on the same day so that after they sedated him for the MRI, they could do the bloodwork and he wouldn't even know it had happened.
That's not what ended up happening. They start sticking him and it's not working so they have to try multiple spots. Zachary ends up realizing they're taking blood, not starting the IV for sedation and immediately points this out to them asking why are you taking the blood work before he's sedated? And they respond, "Oh... yeah."
So the IV goes in easily and then they finish the bloodwork. When someone called to give us instructions- he couldn't eat after a certain time, he had to wear clothes with no buttons or snaps, etc.- they told us after the MRI he'd have 2 hours to wake up. If he didn't wake up within that 2 hour window, they would wake him up themselves. So when they took him back for the MRI they told Zachary he'd come back asleep so to just relax and start reading- Zachary had brought his textbooks to get ahead in his school work. Liam came back from the MRI wide awake. They also said he'd have a hard time eating if he wanted to eat at all and not to rush it but he'd need to eat two graham crackers and a popsicle before he left. Immediately, he ate all of it and had no problem at all. Here's a picture of Father and Son enjoying their popsicles.
So we are really happy that is over with. When he got home, he was very unstable when walking- it was actually kind of funny- Zachary said he looked like a little drunk. But thankfully, he never got sick like we were warned about so all in all it was a good experience!
At Malia's baby shower, there were several newborn diapers on a table with markers just waiting for family members and friends to write funny messages on them. We've been using plain ones for a while and those have run out so now it's time to use the personalized diapers. This one is from my friend Kim and says "I love you baby bug." Kim and I call each other bug so naturally, Malia is baby bug.
My other favorite so far is from Uncle Matt and says "Malia Mae or Mae not have done this." Joey seems to enjoy the light reading as well.
Usually when people ask me what the little baby's name is and I tell them, "Malia," I get the response: "Oooh that's so pretty!" A couple of times I've been asked where that name comes from, that they've never heard it before. That clues me in that they don't know much about our president but I let that go and tell them about the time I met my good friend, Malia. It was my junior year at Carolina and I had done something I would have never guessed I would do, auditioned for an a cappella group. I've always loved singing but to actually sing by myself in front of several (and at the time intimidating) girls I've never met is a bit uncharacteristic of me but I did it. And I made it! The night they decided who was in, they came to each of our dorm rooms to give us the good news and took us to a common area of another dorm for us to meet the existing and fellow new members. One of my fellow new members came up and introduced herself, "Hi! I'm Malia." I responded, "Malia?! That is beautiful. I'm going to name my child that one day." Over the next few years I got to know Malia- we were in Cadence for a year and a half together and then we really got to know each other better through studying for, and eventually kicking butt on, the GRE. She is beautiful, so very kind, one of the smartest people I know and has an awesome sense of adventure. We already know our little Malia is beautiful but as a mother, I hope to raise her to have these same wonderful qualities my friend Malia has. So it was such a good day when Malia was able to Annapolis from DC where she's been living for the summer while completing an internship. We went to lunch at potato valley... is there a more perfect restaurant for me to go to? No. We also grabbed some ice cream and then came back to the apartment and caught up. It was a wonderful visit and I'm so happy that she was able to meet her namesake and also see Liam again!
I don't really need to say anything- just look at this picture.
So in the hospital, when a baby is born, they always get the baby's footprints. They are very kind and either put the baby's footprints in your baby book or, since we brought the baby book but forgot to bring it back with us to the OR, they'll do them on a separate sheet which we later taped in the baby book. The problem is, all baby books have a spot for handprints too. Footprints are much easier to get than handprints. Hands are more easily scrunched up and are more likely to, with ink all over them, end up on their face and clothes. So we waited a few weeks but finally took on the task of getting Malia's handprints done for her baby book... we are ahead of schedule compared with poor Liam- we didn't dare get his handprints until he was 6 weeks old.
Note: they look big but are done on 3.5 x 5 index cards so they're actually quite small and adorable.
Aware of how quickly newborns change, I tried to channel my artsy side and get some cute pictures of Malia while she was sleeping- here's what I came up with.
We have yet to get a family picture taken since the first day in the hospital but here's one of 3/4ths of the family!
Growing up, Zachary had a bear that he loved. It has survived to this day but is not in the best shape. His parents bought an identical bear, and from what I hear traveled a good distance to get it, but Zachary knew an imposter when he saw it and the twin bear was unacceptable. Like father, like son, Liam is very attached to his giraffe, GiGi. My mom got it for him before we even knew that we were expecting a boy. He had no interest in it for over a year and then all the sudden, became obsessed. I tried early on in his obsession to get a GiGi twin, hoping to avoid the rejection Zachary displayed all those years ago but I was too late. GiGi II will go to Malia one day. Anyway- here is Malia with Zachary's beloved bear's twin.
We also got some cute pictures of Liam finally showing some interest in his baby sister.
Malia got her first bath at home! We laid her on the floor and had a clean water bucket and a soapy water bucket. We only uncovered the parts we were washing to keep her as warm as possible. Although in the picture she's showing how mad she was, she tolerated it much better than her brother tolerated those first few baths.
Because of all of Liam's medical problems- NICU, colic, acid reflux- we didn't get a picture of him smiling until he was 2 and a half months old- let's flash back to 11/18/2012:
Little Miss Malia made her smiling debut however at 1 week old, in the doctor's office at her first check-up!
