Single mom??

Waylon has been banished from the house. Overnight on Saturday, he spiked a fever and we were worried that he had the flu - possibly H1N1. We spent Sunday morning on the phone with doctors and nurses trying to figure out what to do. Waylon went to the urgent care and even though his flu test came back negative, the doc was pretty sure it was a false negative and he did have the flu. They immediately called in Tamiflu for him and told him it would be best to get out of the house because Kylie is so young. Then we took Noah to the doc - they wanted to see him and make sure he seemed okay and get him on Tamiflu also - as a preventative measure. So we filled prescriptions and Waylon took off to his parents house. Luckily, my mom was coming back to town anyway, so I have her here helping me but it's still very sad to not have him here. We are also very lucky that Kylie is such a good sleeper because last night went really well even without Waylon. I know he's bummed though that he can't be here. His parents are taking good care of him though and I'm sure he'll make a speedy recovery.

Going back to last Friday for pics....

We took our first family trip to Pullen Park on Friday morning. We all enjoyed getting out of the house and getting some fresh air.

Using our new stroller!

Noah's favorite - riding the boats!

Another cute outfit - this was going to be her coming home outfit but we thought it was a little too big for that day.

Riding the carosel - another favorite.

Here's a shot from Saturday morning - Noah holding Kylie again. He loves to hold her and is still so sweet and gentle with her.

Saturday morning, Waylon and Noah got out to the grocery store but I started getting a little cabin fever. We decided to go take a walk as a family but as we started to walk out of the door, it started raining. So we went out on the back screened in porch and played out there for a while. Then, Noah decided he wanted to go out in the rain, so we let him play out there for a bit - it was fairly warm and just drizzling). He had a great time.

And here's where Kylie hung out while we were out there - in the doorway! :-)

Saturday evening, Janet, Maddie and Mason came over for dinner and playtime. Frank had gone to a wedding so Janet was on her own with two kids. You'd think we could handle four kids with three adults but it was quite the interesting night!

On Sunday, I put Halloween outfits on the kids and had to take some pictures of them!! :-)

Noah is back at school today and my mom has already been to the grocery store (I'm not sure I've ever seen our pantry and fridge this full!) and is busy in the kitchen as I type. Right now she's making vegetable soup but is planning to make a bunch of casseroles for us to keep in our freezer! What a treat!

Get better soon, Daddy!

We miss you and love you very much!!!!

1 week old!!

Today Kylie is a week old! Time is going to start flying now, I know! We had a checkup today and all was well - she weighs 8 lbs, 1 oz (which they were happy with) so we are almost back to birth weight.

The week started with Noah back to school - we are trying to get him back on his nomal schedule - so Waylon and I were home alone with Kylie on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It's funny how it's almost been boring after chasing around a 2 year old all the time. The downtime is important though - for my recovery but also for us to bond, relax and get to know Kylie a little better.

The relaxation we haven't needed too much though because she's a champ at sleeping!! The past four nights, she usually eats around 8:30 and we've put her down in the pack and play in our bedroom anytime between 9:30 and midnight (a few nights she's had trouble settling down at first) but then she's up for a feeding around midnight and 4 and goes right back down after each one We've even had to wake her up after 4 hours (the docs want us to keep that up until she's back to birth weight), then we're usually woken up by Noah around 7 or 7:30!! Crazy. We really couldn't ask for more, huh? We'll see if it keeps up now!

Noah has been a little whiny this week. He's been fighting a cold for a while now (we are really hoping Kylie doesn't get it!) so I'm sure it's that, plus the fact that we have a new baby, oh and he's 2! What a great combination, huh? :-) Today, Waylon and Noah went to the NC State Fair for some father/son bonding time and I think they both liked that. Noah had fun seeing animals and playing the games. I wish I had sent the camera with Waylon so he could have gotten some pictures but we forgot that!

Pictures.....


Tuesday, we gave Kylie her first sponge bath at home. She wasn't really a fan as you can see. You can also see her herniated belly button in this picture (and umbilical cord that's still attached). The doctors say it's normal and should heal on it's own within a year - hopefully a few months.

After the bath, we snuggled up all warm and smelling good. Her hair was all wispy and clean and I couldn't resist a few shots...

Tuesday afternoon, we wll rode together to pick Noah up from school. Kylie didn't enter the daycare but we took pictures to show the teachers. Noah had fun showing all his friends and teachers the picture (he has it in his hand in the picture below!). He'd put it right up to his friends faces and say, 'See!? It's Baby Kylie!' On the way home, I just started laughing thinking that we had two kids in the back of our minivan! It's crazy but wonderful!! :-)

Reading to my two kids!!

Yesterday and today, we took a stroll around the neighborhood with Janet and Mason. Mason and Kylie are two of the three new babies on the block - and there's one more to come in early November! Should be fun!

Hangin' with Mason back at the house - it's amazing how much of a difference 5 weeks makes at this age! Pretty soon it will be nothing!

Last night, our friends Megan and Jason came by to meet Kylie and bring us stromboli - one of Megan's signature dishes. While they were here, Megan snapped this shot of Noah watching me feed Kylie. He had his head down next to her and was holding her hand. It was very sweet.

Megan and Jason have a little boy on they way, too!

We are looking forward to a nice family weekend. My mom comes back on Sunday and Waylon is back to work on Monday. Then the following week, I'm on my own! We'll see how that goes!

Starting our life together!

I'm having trouble moving around pictures in the blog so this first one is a little out of order cause I just took it but I couldn't resist posting this outfit. It's just so fun to have a little girl to dress up - I promise I won't post her outfit every day! :-)

Going back to Friday in the hospital....

Kylie slept pretty well that morning (after I posted at 5am) but there were nurses in and out of the room checking me, drawing blood, etc. I was very happy that morning to have the IV and catheter taken out - although I have to admit, it was kinda nice to not have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night! I can't remember the last time that happened. :-) I felt really good and the doctors and nurses seemed shocked at how quickly I was recovering. I was showered and feeling human again by about 11:00 or so.

We had a nice day just relaxing at the hospital - the grandparents traded off waching Noah and visiting us in the hospital again and that evening, Waylon and his parents took Noah out to dinner while my parents stayed to keep me and Kylie company. When they got back to the hospital to do the swap, I was in the room alone with Kylie and made the mistake of watching out the window. I could see the parking lot and see them all talking to Noah and giving him hugs and it made me miss him even more. I thought about going down to visit but we thought it just might make things worse since Noah had been asking for me quite a bit.

Saturday morning, we put an NC State hat on Kylie

- Noah wore this hat home from the hospital!

My sister flew in late Friday night to meet Kylie, so my dad brought her to the hospital early Saturday to visit

We got the clear from all the docs to go home a day early, so we started packing up and working on discharge papers late Saturday morning. Waylon's parents and Uncle Royal came to visit and see us off.

Waylon's cousin Meghan and her husband Cameron are expecting a baby girl in mid December, so Royal was getting some good practice being a grandfather...

First time in clothes - Kylie's coming home outfit!

Ready to go!

First time in the carseat - in the minivan ready to go home!

Kylie's present to Noah - he was still on a high from meeting her and was just so excited about everything. He unwrapped the box and, genuinely excited said, 'It's a box!' Then he was even more excited when he saw his train.

Another family photo. Noah wanted to put his arm around Kylie.

A cute close up

More big brother gifts - this time from Aunt Ditter

Ready for the first night at home.

The first night wasn't too bad - all things considered. We put Kylie down in the pack and play in our bedroom around 10:30 and she slept until the next feeding time around midnight. We had trouble getting her back to bed and she was requiring multiple diaper changes so we were up and down (mostly up) from midnight until about 4:00. She did go down after that though and slept until almost 8:00. My parents got up with Noah, so we were able to sleep in with her.

Sunday, we just relaxed and played around the house with my parents and my sister. Our friends, Dave and Megan, came to visit and meet Kylie for a bit, too.

My mom took my dad and sister to the airport in the afternoon - they flew home and my mom is going to take care of some things around NC this week and come back on Sunday to stay for a bit again when Waylon goes back to work.

Around 4:00, Waylon's parents came over and brought dinner for Sunday night and Andrea, Sean and Savannah came, too and brought another dinner that we had tonight! Wow! Savannah got to meet Kylie for the first time but had more fun playing with Noah. It's going to be a mad house when all three are running around.

While they were here, we let Noah hold Kylie for the first time. We weren't sure how he'd do - especially because there were so many people around and he was kinda riled up - but he did great!! He sat very still and just watched her and smiled for the many cameras clicking in front of him. :-) At one point, I asked him if he wanted to get down and play now, and he said, 'No, I'm still holding her!' So sweet....

Then he just laid his head down next to her.... melts my heart!

Savannah got a little jealous when Nana was holding Kylie.

This picture cracks me up because Noah looks so well behaved.

We couldn't have asked for more from our night last night... we were worried it was going to be rough at first because we had a hard time settling her down but she finally went to sleep for good around midnight. My alarm went off for the 4 hours since the last feeding, so we finally woke her up around 4:30! After that feeding, she went right back to sleep again and slept until almost 8:00 (we had to get her out of bed before that since we were getting Noah ready for school but she stayed asleep!).

This morning, Waylon took Noah to school and when he got home, my mom left to head to Winston Salem to visit her cousin.

Here's the outfit Noah wore to school today!

You may be able to tell from the picture, Noah is fighting a cold. We are hoping it doesn't escalate into anything else, but we shall see!

Today was very relaxing! It felt really funny to be home without Noah but we took advantage of the down time as much as we could. Since we had such a good night last night, we didn't nap but lots of laying on the couch!

It's funny how different we feel this time around. Things are so much more laid back - which I'm sure is partly the better birth circumstances and recovery but mostly the 'been there, done that' attitude. We just aren't as stressed about every little thing this time. Even though I know that's normal and it probably won't affect the kids, it kinda makes me feel guilty about both kids - like we overdid it with Noah and/or that we aren't giving Kylie as much attention as we did with him.

In any case, our kids are the most amazing things in the whole world and it feels like they both have always been here. Like we all just belong together - and we do!

We're complete!!

We made it home this afternoon! I have more pictures and stories to post but I'm too tired right now! I wanted to make sure to get these two posted though!

Here is Noah's reaction to meeting Kylie -it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen!!

Our family of 4!!

Noah was really good with Kylie - gentle and sweet - and we only had one quick moment of 'No, that's MY mommy' all afternoon. :-) I'm so happy to be home and feel like my life is really complete now.

Some more pictures...

Since this blog is still called Noah's Adventure's (for now - by the way does anyone have a suggestion for a new name??) here are some pictures of Noah's past few days...

Saying goodbye Thursday morning

Opening one of his (many!) big brother gifts

Seeing the first picture of Kylie


Showing Mommy, Daddy and Kylie one of his movies over Skype

Talking to Daddy outside the hospital

And here are some more pictures of the past few days at the hospital including some of Kylie's many visitors! Somehow I missed getting a shot of Evia who came to visit today also. Must have been too busy downing the milkshake she brought to take pictures!

Grammy and Papa

Nana and Grandaddy

Aunt Andrea

Jennie and Cory

Uncle Sean

Snoozing with Daddy

A few close ups...

Great Uncle Michael, Great Aunt Karen and Second Cousin Katie

We are hoping (and pretty sure we'll be able to) to go home tomorrow and I can't wait to unite our family!! I've been feeling pretty good physically and we are hoping to get some good sleep tonight. We'll see!!