Faces of Aaron

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas! My parents came up to visit from fl. I hope to have pictures soon :)

Aaron is moving out of the newborn phase and becoming more of a baby. Although his sleeping hasn't improved too much at night, he is getting chubby and strong. I can't get enough of those cheeks!! He is smiling (especially at mommy) and recognizing all our voices. His expressions are priceless especially when he is around his big sister. Here is Aaron's sly little smile and sad face:

"Boy"

Aaron is such a sweetie! He loves to snuggle, watch his crazy sister, and dance with us to Christmas songs! However, he does have a fussy time usually around 8pm. He cries for about 30 minutes and nothing calms him :( Needless to say, it is a sad and frustrating time of the day for everyone. Hopefully it will pass soon!

Elliot calls Aaron, "Boy." She is adjusting well to having a brother, but doesn't like the word "wait," which she's hearing more often these days. I signed her up for a toddler gymnastics class starting in January. I'm hoping it will be a positive way for her to get energy out and make some friends :)

Good Morning Elliot

Some of Elliot's favorite morning activities:

Watching Disney Jr, tucking in her babies, playing with her nativity set, and reading stories.

Big boy

At almost 10 pounds, our big little boy has outgrown his newborn clothes! He was such a little peanut when he was born 2 weeks early. I have a feeling he won't be tall and slender like his sister ;)

One month

On Monday, Aaron turned one month old! In a way if feels like he has always been a part of our family, but at the same time it feels like yesterday that I had him. He is such a good baby, and way more easy going than his sister was. Thank goodness, because I couldn't handle another high matainence baby!

While Elliot's major feature is her big beautiful eyes, Aaron's is his full head of hair. Lots of people comment on his cool spikey hair that naturally falls into a styled look. I love that I have two little blonde babies :)

Our little guy is growing quickly and his kissable cheeks get chubbier every day. He gained a little over 3 lbs this month, and now weighs 9 lbs 14 oz! He also is 21.5 in. long. I know boys are bigger than girls, but I was so surprised that he gained so much weight! Elliot would only gain about a pound a month in the beginning. It's nice having a little baby around again to cuddle.

We are all adjusting better than expected to life as a family of four. I fell into the stay-at-home mom routine a lot easier than I did when I was on maternity leave with Elliot. Thankfully Aaron sleeps a big chunk when Elliot has her nap. I'm also getting a handle on the double stroller with the best of them :)

Ps-Sorry the pictures aren't that great. I had to use my phone.

Aaron Clement Reynolds

This is how our little man surprised everyone with an early and chaotic birth one month ago...

Thursday: I went to my weekly dr appointment and was told that I was probably going to go to my due date since I was barely 1 cm dilated. Tim's mom Mary, arrived the day before and they were returning home from an afternoon together. I asked Tim if we could have a low-key evening because I didn't feel quite right.

Friday: At 3:30 am, I woke up and immediately vomited. After tossing and turning for an hour, I decided to clock my stomach cramps to see if they were steady contractions. I got sick again and called the midwife on-call who said to come on it to see what's going on. Tim & I were at the hospital from 5-8 am. Thankfully his mom was here, so she watched Elliot at home. They decided that I had a stomach bug and didn't have any contractions. So after two rounds of fluids and medicine, we headed home.

The rest of the day I spent sick in bed. Tim and Mary took care of Elliot while I attempted to keep even water in my system. Finally at 5pm I was able to keep water and Gatorade down!

Saturday: We woke up with Elliot at 7am, and I felt very achy. I figured it was because I was so dehydrated and weak. After about an hour of denial that this was probably labor, I started tracking my contractions which were 5 to 6 minutes apart. After about another hour Tim and I realized that we were going to have another baby whether we were ready or not! He quickly got the car seat installed, packed bags, and go the pack-n-play set up in our room. Soon my contractions moved to 3 minutes apart. (When I was pregnant with Elliot, they told me to come in at 3 minutes apart). I snuggled with Elliot and then we headed to the hospital. While we were in the car, I told Tim that I absolutely needed an epidural because the contractions were getting intense and I was so weak ( I hadn't eaten in two days).

We arrived at the hospital at 12:30pm and settled into the diagnostic room. I was having regular contractions and 5 cm dilated. The nurse said that the anaesthesiologist was ready, so as soon as they got the IV in me I could get the epidural. Since I was dehydrated, they were having a hard time finding a good vain for the IV. While the nurse was figuring that out, my water broke! All of a sudden I felt the overwhelming sensation to push!! Thankfully the midwife was right there and confirmed that he was coming. The absolute worst thing is the world is hearing "Don't push" when you are in incredible pain and your body is pushing whether you want it to or not. I was screaming at the nurses while they yelled back at me to breath through it. Finally the IV was in place and they rushed me to the delivery room. The nurse told me to wait for the contraction and then push. I said screw that, and gave four big pushes and Aaron arrived at 1pm. We were only in the hospital 30 minutes before he was born!!! Tim & I were so overwhelmed with his crazy fast delivery that we were speechless for several minutes.

Sunday: Aaron and I came home to an eager big sister, Daddy, and Grandma. Elliot was a little confused but thought he was cute and kept smiling at him :)

Over the next week, Mary flew back home, and my mom flew in...Tim, Mary, and my mom all caught the 24 hour stomach bug that I had...and we made an emergency trip to Target so our little man could have some clothes and diapers (because he came early, I didn't get to have my shower at work).

Aaron has made sure to already make his mark and make a dramatic arrival, thankfully nothing else has been too dramatic :)