Brooks-Day 2 and Day 3

We had a pretty good morning. Brooks had his circimcision surgery. While he was gone, Tim ran to get breakfast and went home for a little while. I enjoyed some quiet time in my room. Brooks came back and spent the rest of the morning sleeping. We changed his clothes and discovered most of them are way too big!  After lunch, my mom brought Jackson up.  He was asleep and then woke up in a grumpy mood. He played for a while and ate some snacks. Then Tim took Jackson home to take a nap and play with him. Mom stayed with me and held Brooks so I could take a nap.  Even though Jackson ended up not napping, I still think we all enjoyed a quiet afternoon.

My mom took Jackson home, and my dad came up for awhile.  He was able to hold Brooks for a long time. We had another great nurse on Tuesday night (also happens to live down the street from my parents). Brooks had a rough night, and so did we. He was fussy and wanted to be held. He did not like any of the pacifiers that we brought. At one point, we put him in his bed and just let him fuss. The nurse came in and told us about this great paci.  She went to get it, and of course it was like the ones Jackson too. Brooks liked it too.  That helped for a little while, znd we were able to get a few hours of sleep.

We woke up early on Wednesday and got ready to go home. We just had to wait for Dr. Hearn and Dr. Hart to discharge us. My mom and kackson came up around 10:30, and pretty soon we were ready to go. Jackson has begun to feel too comfortable there and was running down the hallways and out of the room.

Even though I was feeling pretty good, I still looked really swollen and chunky. I hate leaving the hospital and still looking six months pregnant!

We got home around 12:00. The days are already a blur. Brooks did well that first night home.  He slept most of the time.

Welcome Baby Brooks!

Evan Brooks Van Heule was born at 2:14 pm on Monday, May 6. He weighed seven pounds even and was 19 inches long!

Tim and I got to AnMed around 5:00am.  After finally getting checked in, we went back to the room at 5:30. The nurse who was there when I delivered Jackson got me all hooked up to the monitors and my IV placed. I was checked and already dilated to 3cm (I was 2cm on Friday). Then they started my pitocin. Dr. Hearn came in around 7:30 and was ready to break my water. Thankfully, I had a wonderful nurse, Cristina (whose daughter happened to be in my class last year), and she convinced him to wait until after I got the epidural. Things got slow while waiting for the epidural.  There was an emergency, so I had to wait my turn. I finally got the epidural.  Thankfully, my contractions had not been that bad. They were tolerable.

I did feel lots better after the epidural.  Dr. Hearn came to break my water, and I was dilated to 6. I was kind of disappointed.  I wanted to be further along.  This was around 12:00.  Cristina guessed that the baby would be here before 5:00. Even though I couldn't feel the contractions, I could definitely feel the pressure. I used the monitor every time I felt the pressure to check my contractions. I was checked again about 1:45, and I was at 9 cm.   I was shocked!  Then the room got crazy busy as they set up everything for delivery. I started pushing at 2:04 and Brooks was here at 2:14. (That is much better than the 3 hours with Jackson!) Brooks came out crying and covered in white cheesiness! Then it was time for Tim to cut the cord. Brooks then started peeing on Dr. Hearn. My mom missed the picture, so they staged it again. Then he peed all over me! They took him over, wiped him off, and weighed him.  I can't believe he was onl 7 pounds.  Even Dr. Hearn was suprised at how tiny he was!  I finally got to hold him while they cleaned up the room. My mom went out to see Dad,  Tu Tu, Kristi, and Jackson. Tim and I spent some time with Brooks before they moved us to our new room. Even though it has only been 2 years, they have changed the whole delivery process.

We got settled in our new room and waited for the baby nurse. She came in and did all of his measurements and gave him a bath. He was having trouble with his temperature, so he stayed under the warmer for awhile. Finally a little after 4 everyone came in the room. My mom, dad, and Jackson did catch the end of the bath.  Jackson was unsure of the whole situation. He wanted nothing to do with the baby. (Jackson had a very busy day with Tu Tu and Kristi. He was spoiled rotten!)

Everyone took turns holding him. I actually felt really good after this delivery. It was so different from Jackson's.

Jackson got tired, so everyone left.  Cookie and Alexa came over later. They were there when Paula, our nurse, was giving Jackson his hearing test.  All of the test are now given in the room. They hardly ever take them to the nursery.  Brooks passed his hearing test.  Paula was a great nurse. She was very personable and really helpful.

Brooks had a pretty good night.  I let Tim sleep through the night except when I needed to get Brooks. For most of the time, I just held Brooks though.

We had a great first day with Brooks.  We are so blessed with another precious son!

Last Weekend as a Family of 3!

Our last weekend as a family of 3 was not exactly how I pictured it.  First of all, I have been sick with a sinus infection.  I have had this constant, hacking cough and really have not slept in three days.  I am very limited in what I can take to treat this, so basically I have been very miserable! Tim and Jackson have been really good and helpful though. Tim has done everything that needed to be done around the house. Jackson has entertained himself.  The weather has been really nasty too.  It has been rainy and cold, not your typical May in South Carolina.

On Saturday morning, we did make it to Eggs Up Grill to eat with Kristi and Mack. Then we headed to Greenville for the first Saturday Market of the year. It was cold, and they were all sold out of our favorite salsa.  As we were leaving though, we realized it was the Duck Derby, so we found another parking place and headed to Reedy River Park.  Even though Jackson loves ducks, he was not impressed with the giant ducks and people dressed as ducks. He did however enjoy the duck cookies.  We stayed to watch the red ducks go down the falls, but didn't hang around for the big duck race. Jackson really was not that impressed, and it was cold. We enjoyed Mellow Mushroom for dinner.

Sunday was just yucky, so we spent the day inside cleaning up and getting everything ready for Baby Brooks. Jackson is spending the night with my parents since we have to be at the hospital at 5am!  I am really excited about meeting Brooks, but I am nervous about how Jackson will be with a baby.  I don't want him to feel left out. I will miss our little family of three, but I am excited about what the future holds for our family of four!

Jackson-23 months old

I can't believe that Jackson is one month away from turning 2!  That is crazy to me.  The times has flown by.

Jackson:

• wears 18-24m and 2t depending on the brand
• weighs 29 pounds (thanks to a doctor's visit last weekend). I am really surprised.  I thought maybe he had lost some weight
• said good-bye to Poppy! He does occassionally ask for it, but once we tell him that he broke it, everything is okay. He still has "blank" with the dirty tag area, but he doesn't even want that as much anymore.  He never went through a time when he cried and cried for paci, so that is a good thing.
• has started putting words together to form sentences!  "What's that noise?" "I love you." "What's that?" "I sleepy." "I stuck." His vocabulary grows every day!  It is amazing!
• has conversations with you-so much fun!
• is still a picky eater!  He does not usually eat 3 meals a day, but he does like chicken nuggets from Wendy's and Chick-fil-A. He will eat pastina "soup," yogurt, cereal, pizza, doughnuts, pancakes, green beans, sometimes macaroni and cheese, French fries, "ice" soft-serve ice cream, cookies, etc.  He really likes junk food!  He used to be so good about eating vegetables and fruits, but he does not like the texture anymore! He still loves his pouches!
• He loves his Thomas train set from Uncle Charlie. He walks around downstairs talking to all of the cars.  He even hides them and remembers where he puts them most of the time.
• loves to play with school buses and put "people" on them.
• He also loves this set of colored eggs that he got for Easter. Those ride on the bus too.
• He knows most of his colors-blue, red, purple, green, yellow.  Orange is still tricky for him.
• He tries to count and can get to three and then skips to six and eight.
• Loves to listen to music. "Bus" is his favorite song along with "Eatsy" for Itsy Bitsy Spider and "Head."
• likes to color
• runs everywhere and loves to run away when we are trying to get him dressed or changed
• is doing great going up and down stairs
• wants to be very independent. When he sets his mind to something, he has to have it or get it done!
• Going out places is an adventure. He runs crazy in Target, and it always ends in a fit.
• has major temper tantrums when he does not get his way.  He will even bang his head on the wall and cry!
• has a Brooks baby doll that he plays with- takes a diaper on and off, hits in the head, throws on the floor, etc...
• loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse especially the Hot Dog dance and singing along with the theme music
• loves to play on iPad. He has mastered some of the puzzles and can do them by himself.
• is so proud of how independent he is!

Jackson is at such a fun age.  I love that he can communicate more and is more independent. We are so blessed to have such a funny and sweet little boy!  We love you, Jackson!

Photo Dump

Here are some photos from the past few weeks.  We went to the Clemson Spring Game with my parents and Murphy and Maria.  They had a field day set up for the kids.  Jackson got all of his stamps and then his free shirt. We made it through the first quarter before he was done.

After my photography class, we went to Member's Night at the Zoo.  Jackson did not want to touch the snake!  I don't blame him!