Kids Say The Darndest Things, 11-9-09

Francis's didn't agree with our choice of a weekend movie (The Great Debaters). He watched a few minutes of it and then walked away shaking his head and muttering, "That's a weird movie."

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In mass yesterday, Francis was stroking Isaac's head and he quietly commented, "Beautiful head...happy ears."

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Just now, we were praying our nightly prayers before Francis goes to sleep. He can now say the entire Hail Mary by himself (though no one else could understand it, I am sure). We are working on the Our Father prayer now, but we have a ways to go: We got to the part, "Give us this day our daily..." and Francis interjected, "POTATOES!" Of course I burst out laughing which gave him the extra courage to ask God for meat to go with his potatoes.

Blue Sleeve, 11-9-09

When I am busy with the baby, Francis can frequently be found staring off into space while quietly stroking Blue Sleeve. This particular time, I found him sitting on our bed in a sea of Blue Sleeves: 3 of them to be exact.

It must be weird to wake up staring at a head that is the size of your entire upper body!

I just love the little swirl on the back of his head: It is so perfect! Reminds me of some type of hard candy or mint I've seen before.

Isaac, 4 weeks today, 11-2-09

Fall! 10-29-09

I finally made it outside to capture the beautiful fall colors...and Francis in them. Sorry, Florida blog-followers, I am sure you are missing fall enough already; this will only make you miss it more! I adore autumn! It was such a beautiful day, today! All the photos from today are posted on http://fugifamily.shutterfly.com It is easier to upload a bunch of photos at one time to shutterfly.

Jaundice Better & Grandma's Visit, 10-27-09

I am happy to report that Isaac is looking and feeling a lot better! It turns out that the jaudice was so bad that he was not eating right and he was dehydrated for a few days. Formula helped to clear the jaundice and get some fluids in his little body fast! Grandma Boog was a great help while she was here (we just returned from dropping her at the airport). Francis absolutely adored Grandma (I am pretty sure the feeling was mutual, actually). She could not go out of sight for 30 seconds without him calling through the house, "Friend, where are you?!" They played and played for hours on end together. And Francis talked her ear off the entire time she was here. I have never seen him so talkative and animated! It was an awesome 5 days except for being simply too short!

Isaac's jaundice at 16 mg/dl on October 22:

Jaundice at 7mg/dl on October 25; Down to a safe level finally!

Jaundice and Woes, 10-22-09

Everyone has to say prayers for poor little Isaac. He has a pretty bad case of jaundice that is puzzling us and his doctor. For most babies, jaundice disappears after the first week but his is getting worse and he is nearly two and a half weeks old. I took him to have his bilirubin levels checked today and they are very high. Not high enough that to panic but high enough that he has to switch to formula to see if we can bring his levels down quickly. He's not gaining weight very well either. Anyway, here is a picture of his little yellow, yawning face this morning before we started the formula. I hope to be posting a picture in 24-48 hours of a perfect complexioned kid...say a prayer that it works. On a happy note, GRANDMA COMES TODAY! HOORAY! My mom was worried that I would be "running circles" around her by the time she got here but I think the timing is perfect! Postpartum emotional instability is peaking right about now for me!

Where are Isaac's Eyes?, 10-20-09

I have taken so many pictures of this kid but he always closes his eyes for the flash! I finally turned the flash off which does not produce very good pictures inside but at least you can see his eyes! 10-18-09

There are some eyes! Got to be quick! 10-17-09

Hi. My name is Francis, and I have been paci-free for one week., 10-20-09

Like many other addictions, going cold-turkey from a paci may cause withdrawal to set in. This causes erratic and unpredictable behavior. However, being two years old also causes erratic and unpredictable behavior.

When you can't have a paci, the next best thing is your entire hand. Unfortunately, this really is Francis' usual disposition these days...but it is not thumb-sucking so it should be easy to cure if it continues.

Still his jovial self most of the time...

But give the boy a weapon and watch out!

What's not to love about that face?

One Week of <7lbs.

I learned with Francis that babies don't stay abies for long! They are like Chia pets for the first couple months. They practically grow right before your eyes! Born at 7lbs. 3oz., I knew that there would be only one week in Isaac's life-after-birth that he would weigh under 7lbs (gaining his birth weight back). I also know that being sleep deprived during the first weeks adds to the difficulty of remembering this precious time. So I tried to take a picture of him everyday for the first week.

Tuesday: First full day in the big world! We also went home from the hospital in the evening. While the whole experience at Catholic Medical Center was wonderful, I never can sleep in hospitals so we went home as soon as we could.

Family naptime! Francis started out with me, but eventually baby woke up and Francis moved to the guest bed.

Time to go home! First family photo with Isaac, too!

Wednesday: Second sleeping smile; first one caught on film. His first sleeping smile was, ironically, when the nurse was standing next to his crib and said it was time for his hearing test. I think his hearing is just fine...along with his sense of humor! Jason was back at work today: He's a trooper...and so am I for that matter :)

Thursday
Friday

Saturday

Sunday
Alas, I missed Monday, Isaac's one week birthday! Days do go by fast with a baby and toddler in tow! I guess I did pretty good getting pulling out the camera on the rest of the days last week! Love you's, miss you's!

Baby Isaac And His Marvelous Entry Into Human History, 10.5.2009

Here is a brief account of Isaac's "marvelous entry into human history" (Fr. Lamb wrote a congratulatory email to Isaac using this phrase and I think it is awesome. I am using it in our birth announcements from now on! It sounds much more epic than "was born." Besides "being born" sounds much to passive for this kid's journey: It was all him and God...I only helped during the last 8 minutes).

2:51am- I awoke to a sense that this was the day. I tried to fall asleep but that was pointless and I was starting to become aware of contractions that seemed regular.

4:00am- I got up and started cleaning but didn't wake Jason yet because I didn't have much evidence to suppose my intuition.

4:45am- Jason, I think I am going into labor. Keep sleeping just in case I am wrong but I think this might be the day.

5:30am- Jason got up and decided to prep for his classes, still not knowing whether this was the real deal. I was still having regular contractions but since they were slight, I thought they could stop any time.

6:30am- Time to call into the boss, Jason. The contractions still might stop and it will be all for naught but you can't leave me and go to work right now!

10:00am- Contractions are very light now and furtherer apart, 5-7minutes. I am mentally preparing for a "putterer" labor which means I may be in labor for another day or even two. Still, I made a call to my doctor to see if I could schedule an appointment for the end of the day just to see if I was progressing. (I had just about convinced myself by this time that it was all in my head!) Doctor's orders: Go to the hospital now, just in case, since my last labor was so fast.

10:32am- Jason, Francis, and I packed into the car with the bare necessities. I am just going to see what is up and then we will be back home before lunch. The only call at that point was to mom (for advice)...I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up.

11:30am- After a short time in triage, nurse announced: This baby is coming today and soon! Jason loaded Francis up and took him to a friend's house a couple minutes away. As Francis walked out the door he turned back and said "Mama come with you" (which means Mama come with me). I wanted to explain but I choked up in the moment and Francis immediately saw the change in my face. We both started to cry and he ran back to me for another long, tear-filled goodbye hug. Once they were gone, I got changed and called my mom and by that time the doctor said you might want to call your husband to tell him to hurry or he is going to miss it! Jason barely had a few minutes to catch his breath when he returned...We snarfed down a light lunch and then it was show time.

I lost track of time after that until the nurse called out 1:46pm and I was holding my little Isaac in my arms. We asked the nurse how long the pushing phase was: 8.5 minutes. He was a perfect 7lbs. 3oz. and 19.75 inches long. His Apgar Scores were 9 and 10; nearly perfect. My first image of him (I think every mom has a photo shot in her head of the first impression of her newborn) was his arms and legs tucked closely to his body: I couldn't tell if he emerged that way or if he was just really fast at tucking back into a little ball once he was out. He was beautiful!

After a little bonding and a first meal for Isaac, I handed him over to Papa for his first bath. I wish I had pictures of that...it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Jason rolled up his sleeves and put Isaac in the little Rubbermaid tub of water on the counter. He talked to him during the whole bath and Isaac just listened.

At around 4:30 or 5pm, Jason went to go get Francis to meet his new little brother. That was a very exciting moment for me and Francis and the scene went down just the way that I had hoped: Before he came in, I got camera's ready and put the baby in the crib. First is was hugs for mama and then he told me about his day at his friend's house. Then I asked Francis where our baby was. He pointed to my tummy and I shook my head. He came out, I explained. He's right here. Francis peered into the crib. Baby! He pointed. I don't think he said much but you could see the wheels turning in his head as he processed everything and held his little brother for the first time.

Jason and Francis went home that night to give mom and Isaac a chance to rest. Isaac was a champ during his first hours in the big world. He didn't complain much. He just took it all in. As entries go, it was a pretty marvelous one, if you ask me.