Baby T is here!

We think all it took for Baby T to want to come was a trip to the hospital. My niece broke her arm and we went to the hospital to see her, and less than 24 hours later, my water broke.
I guess he just needed to see that hospitals weren't bad places to go.

He arrived at 12:37 p.m. and surprisingly, his delivery took longer than his big sister's. M came in 3 hours, 56 minutes. Baby T came in 5 hours, 47 minutes, although I think he might've come sooner if the nurse had checked dilation a little sooner. I'm not complaining though—I know many moms labor a lot longer.
There was no waiting for an epidural this time. With M I was 7 cm along before the epidural; I was about 5 cm dilated when I got to the hospital (I dilate fast, what can I say? Besides Thank God!) and there was no waiting. Anesthesiologist was there making jokes about my back artwork and my husband was being entertained watching the huge needle enter my back. Funniest thing for me was the doctor telling Matt he could watch but he had to watch while seated. I bet he's deflated a lot of male egos...
So what an easy labor! And I pushed for less than 40 minutes, also another blessing. Our little bundle of boy was 8 pounds 1 ounce, 19.5 inches. And now, he's already 16 days old!!

I'm hoping other mothers experience the same thing, but I have a big case of I-forgot-what-a-newborn-is-like-and-does-itis. It's funny looking at your 25 pound toddler and then almost falling because the 8-pounder is so much lighter that you used too much momentum on the pick up.
I had to ask the doctor how much spit up is too much spit up. Wouldn't a mom already know this? Not really!! For all I can remember, M never spit up!
And all that talk about boys being better/worse/different than girls? TRUTH.
Baby T is not falling for the schedule thing. He's a hungry little man, and he's been defying medical convention that a newborn can only hold about 2 ounces—he's done 4 at the most (and kept the majority of it down!). He's lanky and long compared to M, who almost immediately became my little chubbsters. He was impossible to keep dry for the first week and a half because I was scared to manipulate his private part too much and thus, pee went all out the back and sides instead of into the diaper (I have never done as much laundry as the past two weeks!).
But he is a phenomenally sweet and happy baby, with very little to fuss about unless Mom is sleeping too well and he's hungry. I am so thankful for that!

As for big sister, she loves Titus. She just doesn't love that things have changed, and there's some attitude happening. Who can blame her, it's a big adjustment!

Back to blogging, expecting No. 2

Being pregnant with Baby No. 2, I had thought that chronicling my experience would come easily. And then the toll of keeping up with Baby No. 1 ("M") and growing another little being made sleep my main priority.
Ahh, if only my teenage self had appreciated the copious amounts of sleep she received! {She didn't—I know she whined about 5 a.m. swim practices more than was necessary.}
I am now pushing 38 weeks and waiting impatiently for Baby No. 2, hereafter named Baby Tank, to make his exit. Let's face facts—I'm excited to meet my little man but I am desperate to have him out of my body!!
In the two months since my pitiful last post, I've:

• gained more weight
• finally figured out our cat box situation
• nearly shot my dog
• survived a 25 pound toddler bouncing on me and insisting on being picked up
• used Pinterest to great success with my toddler
• miraculously managed to not kill my husband

That last point deserves clarification—I don't really want to kill him. I think. A monstrous hormone I'll call She-Devil-tropin is responsible for ridiculous rage and completely unjustified anger at the father of my children. Another good reason to have Baby Tank evicted, so my husband doesn't consider divorce on anger management failure grounds. (The dog has also faced my wrath, but she was given reprieve by my very loving parents. My husband has no such luck.)
A similar hormone, that any pregnant woman is familiar with, is Foggy-Memory-terone. If you're blonde like me, people blame your hair color but I know the truth. Standing in front of my locker at work and spinning the lock dial for two minutes, trying to remember the exact order of my combination, is not blonde. That's pregnant!

Meanwhile, there's a growing and developing little toddler who can say her brother's name but still doesn't really get what we mean when we tell her she's going to have a little brother. She'll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, I've started building the toddler resource/activity drawers, thanks to great suggestions from the mom at Growing A Jeweled Rose.
M and I have made our first "smoosh bag", or sensory bag, we've bathtub painted with shaving cream, and we've made Valentine cards. It's been a blast, as long as I can get up from the floor and get M into the tub for cleanup without leaving a messy trail.
If you're interested, you can follow me on Pinterest by searching @tafradonberger .
Adieu for today!

(Too) Warm weather where we live made for a great play time at the park yesterday!