12 weeks & 21 months

So it's been a long while since I've blogged....been a little busy keeping up with the addition of our second boy, Drew Strider.
Drew arrived on March 15, 2010 at 10:18am. He weighed 8lbs and 2oz and was 20" long. I was induced at 6:00am that morning. A 4hr labor and delivery was quite a blessing! We were sooo amazed at how much he resembled Casey. The first thing we noticed different was a giant dimple in his chin. He was just perfect. I couldn't wait for Casey to meet his little brother.
When my mom brought him to the hospital room, Casey's first words were, "whassat?". He was not at all interested in his little brother. My madre stayed with us for three weeks to take care of Casey whilst I dedicated my time to Drew. Drew was definitely a little more "needy" than Casey. There was definitely more crying. Jaundice hit the day after we got home from the hospital. There were no biliblankets to be found so we had to keep up 2 hr feedings. Yay for me! Drew had about 4-5 foot pricks over the next several days, to make sure the bilirubin levels were going down. We were so glad when he was in the clear. However, his orangy skin took several weeks to disappear.
For the first two weeks of life, Drew slept with me in bed. He didn't like being alone. He didn't like being swaddled. He didn't like the bassinet. He didn't like being on his back. He didn't like being alone and swaddled on his back in the bassinet. So with me he slept which meant I barely did. Thank goodness he's okay with the bassinet now.
Then we had trouble with breast feeding. He wanted to eat for an hour and then some. I had a 18 mo old running around and didn't have an hour. His digestion didn't agree with what I was giving him either. Twenty minutes after he was done, he was screaming his head off. After two weeks of trying to make it work, I decided it wasn't working for either of us. So we switched him to formula. Once he was on formula, the gassiness was better, but he started having trouble with his poop. Poor lil' guy. So we had to start adding prune juice to his diet. That got things moving. Unfortunately, things started moving up on the other end. He began to show signs of reflux. So after he eats we have to sit him up for 20+ minutes so he won't puke up half his bottle. Fun, fun, fun.
At about 8 weeks he became more predictable and started showing signs of an actual eat, sleep, awake schedule. He also started cooing and smiling. But the best thing was he went from 2 feedings in the middle of the night down to one. Just this past week he has been sleeping through the night. Hallelujah!

HOW'S BIG BROTHER BEEN?
Casey has been a typical toddler. A few fits, lots of whining and plenty of laughs. He's just now getting his "fang" teeth. Only 4 more molars and he'll have them all! Yay! He's been quite the cold collector this past winter. Averaging about 2 colds a month. Which means he's had about 3 or 4 ear infections over the last 6mos. THANK GOD SUMMER IS NEARLY HERE!!!
In the first two weeks of Drew's existence, Casey managed to head butt, kick and smack his little brother. Now that Drew is 12 weeks, he has also felt the pain of a body slam, a few pokes in the eye, more head butts and severe slap in the face. Casey has spent much time getting to know the "corner" of our living room.
Now there have been some most endearing moments between the brothers as well. Casey will, from time to time, come up to Drew and give him a big, "mmmmmaaaaaaaaaa" - kiss. He also gives him hugs and just recently has attempted to pick him up. Drew is all smiles when Casey is around. A couple weeks ago Casey was in the kitchen eating his snack. Drew was in the living room with me. Every time Casey started to babble, Drew would smile. Casey stopped, Drew stopped. Casey babbled, Drew smiled. It was the cutest thing I think I ever saw. Brotherly love.

I'll have to remember that moment when I am breaking up a fist fight in my living room.

Shortly after Mother's Day I got to go back at work - two days at the office and one from home. I was so happy to go to work that first day - I surprised myself! I am enjoying it more than I thought. I get to go talk to adults and do adult things. The one thing I did not think I would enjoy was coffee. Coffee is also a new addition to my life. Mind you 1/3 of the cup is french vanilla creamer, but yes, I am enjoying coffee. In fact, for Mother's Day I asked Mark to get me a programmable coffee maker so it would be ready for me first thing in the morning.

Mark has been busy pursuing his dream of owning a radio station. This only allows him to work a part-time job. His 'work' hours are kinda all over the map, but it's been nice because he's available to spend more time with the boys. (Which works out great for me in case I need to go to the store or an appt.) He was also taking care of Drew's middle of the night feedings for me on the days I worked. What a guy! I'm counting my blessings now because I know that won't always be the case. Eventually he'll be back to work full-time and be gone just like most husbands and fathers.

The Boyers have been on quite a ride these past several months. When Drew arrived we all had to go through a lot of adjusting. Now we are beginning to find our family rhythm and we are learning to go with the flow.