Like Brother, Like Sister

Do all babies look the same or do newborn pics of Joshua and Samantha look the same? If the two baby pics look the same, then Samantha is going to look just like Josh who looks just like his daddy. If that is the case, then I am just the baby grower and no resemblance to the babies. Joshua has my eyes and hair color. Sometimes, he looks like me. However, he really looks like Keith. Some people have said that Samantha looks like me, but I don't really see it yet. Check out Joshua at 10 weeks and Samantha at 10 weeks. They really do look similar.

15 Minutes of Fame

When I was pregnant, I frequently went on the different baby sites such as parents.com, americanbaby.com, and babycenter.com to look up different pregnancy information. I also joined a forum on americanbaby.com for women who were also expecting in October 2009. It was a nice forum with a bunch of women discussing different things happening at different points in the pregnancy. I used the forum more for the reading, but some women got really into it. Some women just shared too too much. In reading some of the stuff, I definitely found myself holding my fingers back from typing a response. (The web equivalent of biting your tongue).

After the babies were born in October, many women posted their birth story. So, I decided "why not?" A week after Samantha was born, I posted Samantha's birth story on americanbaby.com. I posted it very quickly without regard to grammar, without proofreading it, and didn't think anything of it. A week later, I got an email from the Features Editor of American Baby Magazine. She said that she was writing an article for American Baby Magazine, read my birth story, and asked if I would be interested in being featured in the article. The article appeared in the January 2010 edition of the magazine, page 19. It had my name on it with the birth story and a picture of Samantha and I when she was 3 weeks old. We are going to put the article with the magazine cover in a shadow box and hang it in Samantha's room.


So, that is our 15 minutes of fame. I told some of my friends about it and showed them the article. Of course, they thought it was cool. However, the coolest was when random aquaintances or Keith's friends who he did not tell saw the article and mentioned something to him or me.It would be great if I could write for a magazine monthly like that, but there are thousands of women out there with the same thought. Plus, it is hard enough for me to find the time to add to the blog. How would I find the time to really write? I guess if I was getting paid for it, I would find the time.

Samantha 2 Months

I can't believe two months have already passed by. Time just moves so fast. I am starting to get the hang of having two little ones. It is definitely different the second time around.

I remember thinking how difficult it was when I had just one newborn, Joshua. Now, it seems so easy with just one. There is definitely a lot more to juggle now that I have two. Timing is everything. "Nap when the baby naps" is a thing of the past. There is hardly a time when both are sleeping at the same time. I am hoping that when I get Samantha on a schedule, I can time it so that she takes a nap when Joshua does. Unfortunately, that will probably happen the day Joshua gives up his nap.

Samantha is not sleeping through the night yet. She is still waking up around 3am. I am anxious for the day when she will sleep through the night. Mommy needs her beauty sleep. They say that sleep is very important for weight loss. I am no where near ready to get in my prepregnancy jeans, which is a litte frustrating as I remember fitting into a pair at 6 weeks postpardum with Josh. I also remember that Joshua started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks and was fully there by 9 weeks. Samantha is nowhere near there. Well, they say that your children are different. This is just one example.

Snow Storm

In a matter of 2 weeks, we got 2 snow storms. The first snow storm gave us about 6 inches and the second snow storm gave us almost 30 inches. Joshua had a lot of fun playing in the snow during the first storm and also helping Daddy shovel in the second storm. (Well, it looks more like sweeping).

Hanukkah 2009

Samantha's first Hanukkah. She is almost 2 months old, and she pretty much has everything and won't remember, so we didn't exactly need to go crazy with gifts for her. Joshua has tons of toys as well and we didn't need to go crazy with him either. He has just as much fun opening the gifts and playing with the boxes as he does playing with the toys inside.


One of the gifts we did get Joshua is a play kitchen. There was a big debate in the house about whether the play kitchen was a "girlie" toy. The kitchen is blue and beige so it is not like it is some frilly pink kitchen. Any toy that is pretend play is good for a young child at this age. I took a poll on Facebook and no one thought it was girlie. In fact, many mentioned that they also bought a play kitchen for their son. Besides, when Samantha gets a little older, she will enjoy it too. I promised Keith for Joshua's 3rd birthday we could get him a Home Depot play tool bench if he wants.


This year was a nice celebration as my cousin Seth flew in with his family from San Francisco. (Seth is my first cousin as our mothers are sisters). He has a daughter, Zoe, who is 9 months old. That was the first time I got to meet her, and she is so adorable. Seth's sister, Jeni, lives near me in Rockville. We are more like sisters than first cousins and Joshua calls her Aunt Jeni and her husband is Uncle Mike. Below are pictures from our Hanukkah celebration together. It was so nice to get the next generation together as when Seth and Jeni and me and my brother were younger, we used to get together for these celebrations as well. It would be nice if we all lived closer as we are now scattered across the country. So, the Hanukkah celebration was very special.

I Got Out

Out of the house that is. This is the first day that I have made it out of the house as a person with 2 kids. I mentioned that I walked with both kids to Safeway with the new double stroller. I mentioned that I took a walk halfway around the block and to get the mail with Joshua in his stroller and Samantha in the wrap. I even put both kids in the car and went to the "drive through Starbucks", but today is the first day that I actually got in the car with both of them and got out of the car and did an errand. It really wasn't that bad. Yet, it definitely is more complicated these days.

Below are the steps to getting out of the house, running the errand, and making it back home again. Time needed to actually do the errand - 10 minutes. Total trip time - 3 hours.

1. Feed the baby prior to leaving 2. Change the baby 3. Make sure diaper bag is stocked with his and her diapers 4. Load baby in the car seat 5. Run to the car and load stroller and diaper bag (If it is cold, turn on the car to heat it up) 6. Put Joshua's coat on 7. Load Joshua in the car 8. Load Samantha in the car 9. Drive to destination 10. Take out stroller 11. Move stroller to Joshua's side of the car 12. Put Joshua in the stroller 13. Move stroller to Samantha's side of the car 14. Take Samantha out of car seat 15. Load Samantha into stroller 16. Walk through parking lot to store 17. Pray there is an automatic door so it is easy to get through the door 18. Curse under your breath, because the door is not automatic 19. Walk through the door and locate the restroom, because it has now been 2 hours since Samantha has nursed and she needs to nurse again 20. Change Samantha 20. Do the errand 21. Leave the store 22. Go to Samantha's side of the car, take her out of the stroller and load her into the car seat 23. Go to Joshua's side of the car, take him out of the stroller and load him into the car seat. 24. Load the stroller in the trunk 25. Drive home 26. Open the garage door 27. Open the house door 28. Take Samantha out of car while still in car seat 29. Take Joshua out of car 30. Take off Joshua's coat 31. Bring Joshua upstairs 32. Run downstairs 33. Take Samantha out of car seat 34. Bring Samantha upstairs 35. Ponder whether that 3 hour trip was really necessary in the first place.

No Pacifiers

Samantha doesn't use a pacifier. All in all, I guess that is a good thing. It just irks me when I am out in public and I see 2 year olds (or older) walking around with pacifiers. To me, it is just as bad as seeing a 10 year old walking around with a blankie. Pacifiers have their purpose. They are used to soothe infants. Some newborns have a greater sucking need and pacifiers satisfy this need. They also say that pacifiers during nap and bedtime reduce the risk of SIDS during the first 6 months. However, after about 6 months, pacifiers should be weaned.

Joshua used a pacifier. The pacifier served its purpose for us. (Um, I mean for him). If he was cranky, whether at home or in public, the pacifier acted as a great "mute button". All we needed to do was give him the pacifier, and he would calm down. If I was at the grocery store and he started chirping "eh eh eh", in goes the pacifier. Immediate calm. If we were eating at a restaurant, and we started hearing "eh eh eh". In goes the pacifier, and once again, an immediate calm. When we went on trips, the pacifier was great on the airplane to help his ears from popping. You could probably equate the pacifier to a drug. Instant calm and happiness once this rubbery thing was placed in Josh's mouth. Therefore, everyone dreads time for weaning. Maybe that is why you see preschoolers walking around with pacifiers. They just can't give up the "drug" and their parents turn the other way. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying this is bad parenting or equal to a parent spanking their kid or smoking around them, but there is a time when a pacifier becomes inappropriate. I weaned Joshua off the pacifer at around 6 months. I was just extremely lucky as he didn't really put up a fuss when I took it away.

Now back to Samantha. They say to wait about 3 weeks before introducing the pacifier so that you can make sure breastfeeding is well established. They also say that you may have to try a few different types of pacifers to see what kind your baby likes. At 3 weeks, I introduced the pacifier. No luck. She gagged when I tried to give it to her. I tried type #2 and then type #3. No luck. I was about to give up when a few of my friends suggested I try the "Soothies" pacifier. No luck. After $20 and 4 different types of pacifiers, I gave up. Every once in awhile, I will try again with the pacifiers collecting dust here, but still no luck. I remember what a life saver the pacifier was at times with Joshua and now I won't have that. I remember thinking, "if Joshua gets fussy, all I need to do is give him a pacifer and he will calm down". I can't do that now. So, if I take her to a restaurant and she fusses, I am screwed. (I actually did go to a restaurant with Samantha and "the girls" on Friday night. One of my friends has a newborn too who is a week older than Samantha. Her daughter, Emma, was an angel. You didn't even hear a peep out of her. Samantha, well, let's just say that the table next to us knew that we had a 6 week old baby with us. Samantha finally behaved when the meal came. However, it was a pretty stressful meal, and a pacifier would have been nice).

I guess that I should look on the bright side. I am not going to have to wean Samantha.

First Smile

Every parent anxiously waits to see their baby's smile for the first time. It usually occurs somewhere around 6 weeks. In the beginning, you may think you see your baby smiling, but typically it is just gas. We were luck y enough to see Samantha's first smile around 4 weeks. It was the sweetest smile. Of course that first one you are thinking to yourself, "is it or isn't it"? I know it seemed early to see the first smile at 4 weeks, but I know it was a real smile and not gas. I can't wait to see many more of those beautiful gummy smiles.

Pea in the Nose

Getting Joshua to eat vegetables is a struggle. When he was an infant, and we were introducing vegetables, he didn't seem to have a problem with them. Now, he won't touch them. If it's green, forget it. All I can do is continue to put it in front of him and hope he will eat some. More vegetables go on the floor than on his mouth. "Joshua, food goes in your mouth and in your belly". Joshua takes the food and puts it up to his belly. Great. I have a comedian on my hands.

Tonight, we went through the same drill as always trying to get Josh to eat his peas. The next thing I know, Joshua has a pea stuck in his nose. And, he keeps putting his finger in there to push it up further. Oh boy. Keith grabbed tweezers and yanked the pea out of his nose. Of course, Josh thought it was funny. I did too, but I tried not to laugh.

Getting Antsy

This is my second week on my own with just Samantha and Joshua during the day - all day. All 10 hours of the day. All very long 10 hours of the day with the 2 of them. Last week was a lot of feeling it all out and trying to get my act together. OK, maybe not getting my act together but at least learning what that "act" is all about. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did get out of the house once last week, just once. I put Samantha in the Moby wrap, Josh in his stroller and headed out the door. I made it to the mailbox and halfway around the block. The wrap was just not working that well and it made it difficult to really walk around. At least I got out of the house.

Over the weekend, we finally put the double stroller together. So, today I decided to venture out with the stroller - to the grocery store. It is a 5 minute walk, and there is a Starbucks in there. Oh heaven! Getting the two of them into the stroller and walking to the grocery store was not that bad. When I got to the grocery store, I had both kids complaining. Oh joy. Finally they settled down, I picked up a few items from the store and bought my Starbucks (grande soy decaf caramel macchiato). It was then time for lunch for Joshua, so I needed to leave the store. As I left the store, it started lightly drizzling. OK, I can handle this. As I continue to walk home, the rain comes harder and then turns to HAIL! Yes, hail. So, I start running. The baby was pretty covered as the stroller lies back to almost flat. But, poor Joshy! I'm sure he got pelted by the hail. At least the grocery store is pretty close. So much for getting out of the house with no issues. This 2 kid thing is really challenging!

Samantha - One Month

Samantha at one month is your typical newborn. She eats, sleeps, and poops. Not too many exciting tricks at this point, but she is a joy to have around. She definitely sleeps a lot so that is helpful at this point with trying to manage two. It has only been one week since I have really been on my own with two, so we shall see as the time passes. I would say that Samantha is relatively an easy baby just like her brother was as a newborn. Yet, Samantha seems a little more needy. She likes to be held and doesn't like to be put down very much. I also think I saw her smile. I know it may be a little on the early side, but I don't think it was gas.

Samantha hd her one month doctor's appointment today, and she is doing really well. She already weighs 8 1/2 lbs. I don't think Joshua weighed that much at this point. All in all, it has been a great month, and I look forward to many more great months and years ahead.

Preschool?

Joshua is now 2. Since he was born and I went back to work when he was 4 months old, we had a nanny to take care of him during the work day. I knew that some day I would have to send Joshua to preschool. As his birthday is September, he misses the school deadline which is August 31. Therefore, he will be one of the older kids in his class. For a boy, I think that is probably a good thing. (Regardless of how smart I think my Son is really). For kids in Josh's situation, they have a transitional 2s program which has the parent go to school with the child for 1 or 2 days per week. Then, the following September, the kid starts preschool on their own in the 2s class. Knowing that I was having a baby in the fall, I didn't think this option would be feasible and didn't really consider it. Therefore, I knew that I would just send Joshua to preschool next fall in the 2s program. What I didn't realize is that you are supposed to register your child for school in December/January. Of course, I started freaking out. I was so consumed with the newborn that preschool didn't even enter my mind. Why in the world do I need to register for preschool 9 months prior to starting? I have no clue where to send Joshua either. So, very quickly, I had to do research on preschool programs.

Being clueless about preschool, I did a little research and plan on visiting some open houses. What am I supposed to look for in a preschool? Who has the nicest toys? Are the kids not crying? Decisions decisions. I am sure it will all work out.

On My Own

Yesterday was the first day that I was truly on my own with both kids. Samantha is just about a month old but prior to this week, I had help from the visit from my parents, and the nanny was here with Joshua. The nanny's last day was Friday, so now it is just me and the two kiddies during the day. I was lucky when it was just me and Samantha during the day, because she slept a lot, so it was easier. (2 years ago when Joshua was a one month newborn, I remember thinking how hard it was. Now, it seems easier. I guess it is due to more experience). Starting now, I am up at 6:30am when Joshua wakes up, and my day begins. Well actually, maybe my day begins at 3am or 4am when Samantha wakes up. When oh when am I going to get more than 3 hours of sleep in one clip?

To keep your sanity, it is ideal to get out of the house at least once a day. Even if it is just walking around the block, it is important to do something. So, my do something yesterday was a walk with Joshua and Samantha. I hadn't put the double stroller together, so I put Joshua in his stroller and put Samantha in the Moby Wrap. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten the hang of the Moby Wrap so the nice walk with Samantha and Joshua turned into a walk to the mailbox and a walk half way around the block. I still need to work on the whole wrap thing, because it just didn't feel exactly right. Today, my "getting out" was a trip to Starbucks. Well, it was a drive-thru so I never got out of the car. Yet, I did get out. I had to load both kids in the car, and that was an event in and of itself. Hopefully, it will get easier each time.

Halloween 2009

Joshua age 2 as a monkey and Samantha at age 12 days as a pumpkin. In the morning, we took Joshua to a parade in the neighborhood. In the evening, we took Joshua trick-or-treating. He had a lot of fun as we pulled him around in his Radio Flyer Wagon. He liked going up to the houses and saying "trick or treat". Halloween was Joshua's introduction to candy. Of couse, he loves it! At 12 days old, Samantha got dressed in costume as well. No trick-or-treating for her. Just some photo ops for her. Maybe next year.

Big Brother

On October 19th, Joshua's world changed. He became a big brother. We tried to psych him up about being a big brother prior to the arrival of Samantha. Since he was a little under 2, it was more difficult since he didn't really understand. We read "baby on the way" books, "I'm a big brother books". We told Joshua about the baby in mommy's belly, and we introduced Joshua to his sister's room. Joshua liked going into Samantha's bedroom. He would always walk in there so excited and say "sister's room, sister's room". Yet, I don't think he really knew what sister's room meant. Soon he would find out. (One day, he went in there and peed on the floor. Maybe that was his unconscious way of acting out).

Knowing that Joshua's world was going to turn upside upon Samantha's arrival, we wanted to make Joshua feel special about becoming a big brother. Joshua was used to getting all of the attention. Now, Samantha is going to need more attention and Joshua is going to have to share his time. We created a "Big Brother Day" the day I got home from the hospital. (Unfortunately due to the threat of Swine Flu, the hospital changed their visitor policy. Therefore, Joshua was unable to come visit me in the hospital.) Not seeing Joshua while I was in the hospital was hard, but it was better that I didn't have a c-section so that I came home 2 days earlier.

Josh got introduced to candles around his second birthday a month earlier. So, now he really likes candles and blowing them out. When we got home from the hospital we said, "Happy Big Brother Day". We gave him a gift, a cake, and he got to blow out the candles. It was really cute. I don't know if Joshua really understood what was going on, but it was nice for him to get some attention and feel special during a transitional time.

Monday October 19, Samantha Lauren Has Arrived

I had a planned c-section scheduled for Monday 10/19. My arrival time at the hospital was to be around 11:30am and the c-section was scheduled for 1:30pm. (I had a c-section with Joshua and had been debating VBAC for most of the pregnancy. Dear readers, you already know this. But then towards the end, I decided I was going to have the c-section unless "all the stars aligned" for the VBAC. Readers, am I boring you with what you already know? Basically in the end, I went through a long labor with Joshua, pushed for 4 hours and ended up with a c-section. I didn't really want to go through that again. Add in the small VBAC risks, and "voila" - repeat c-section).


I woke up at 7:00am on October 19th with the plan of taking a shower, running a quick errand, and then Keith was going to take us to the hospital at 11:30am. At 7:48am I had a contraction. 10 minutes later, I had another contraction, 10 minutes later, I had one again. They weren't super painful, just felt like a menstrual cramp, but I knew that they were real contractions. I finally called my OB at 10am, and he said to come to the hospital. Worse case scenario, they will move up my c-section time.


I arrived at the hospital around 10:45am, and the contractions had been varying between 5 - 10 minutes, and they still were at the same pain level. The L&D nurses hooked me up to the monitors and checked me out. I was 4-5 cm dilated and 90% effaced! Holy crap! I didn' expect that. I had mentioned to the nurses about a potential VBAC. They said that there is no more ideal VBAC situation than what I was in. I guess "the stars were aligned". Bring on the epidural! The nurses called my OB (who was thrilled by the way), and we went into the official L&D room to move forward with the VBAC.


I received the epidural, and the Anaesthesiologist said I should feel a pain level of a 1 or 2. At first, it was a 1 or 2, but shortly after, the pain turned into a 3 or 4. I could feel contractions not in my lower abdomen anymore, but now I felt them in my bottom. (Very strange and that hurt. If this is what delivery is like, maybe I should have gone through with the c-section). The Anaesthesiologist came back and reduced my pain level back to a 1 or 2. I then quickly dilated to 6 cm and then to 10cm. My water hadn't broken, and I asked the nurse about that. She said that she would be calling the doctor in to break my water. 2 minutes later, my water broke on its own. Then the pushing started which wasn't super terrible with the epidural in high gear. My doctor did have to give me an episiotomy, but I guess that is pretty common anyway. I pushed for a little less than 1 1/2 hours and then Samantha Lauren was born at 3:05pm.


Samantha Lauren born on October 19th at 3:05pm, weight was 6 lbs 10 oz, length was 19 3/4 inches.

In the Beginning

When Joshua was first born, I started a blog to discuss his milestones and what was going on being a first time mom. Sometimes, it was easy to put my thoughts to paper - um, I mean computer. Sometimes, time escaped me and it would be weeks before I got caught up on Joshua's latest adventures (or mine). When I got pregnant with baby #2, I started a blog and blogged weekly on what was happening with the pregnancy this time around. Now that the second baby is here, I am starting a new blog that will discuss "Chaos Times Two". I hope you will enjoy this new adventure my family is embarking on.

Enjoy!