its been forever...

i havent blogged in months ---- life goes on, it gets busy and things get forgotten. maybe i will start blogging again but maybe not. In the last few months - we have fallen in love w/ a little bald man.

Mack is 4 months old and finally on the growth charts - he is 12lbs 4 oz, in the 3rd percentile and he is 25 inches long, which is 75th percentile. basically he is a tall and skinny green bean that has stolen my heart!!

He sleeps better than any parent can dream - all night, every night and throughout most of the day too!!

Dash is adjusting and has definetly entered his terrible 2's. This week has been a challenge but we are surviving. Even when he is driving me insane - I still just want to hug and kiss him bc he is too cute! Do any parents have any idea what they are doing - bc we definetly do not. Sometimes I just want to smack myself bc i hear myself saying things to dash that I swore I would never say to my kid. (ex "b/c I said so"). I just hope we don't mess these boys up too much!!

Home...

After 22 days in the NICU at All Children's Hospital - Mackey was released a week ago and has been home w/ us ever since! The adjustment to a newborn in the house hasn't been that bad  - Mackey sleeps almost 22-23 hours a day and it is pretty easy to forget that he is even here. Dash is doing so much better than I ever imagined. He likes to give the baby kisses and gently pets his headd...too cute. He also likes to point out Mackey's body parts --- including jabbing him in the eyeball. He is up to almost 6lbs and is getting bigger every day. He is an excellent eater and is eating every 3-4 hours. We are so glad to have him home with us.

almost 3 weeks -

It has been almost 3 weeks, 19 days to be exact and Mackey is still in the NICU and most likely will be coming home sometime early next week. He has finally mastered eating from a bottle and is gaining weight like the doctors want him to. We thought he would be coming home this weekend but he failed his "carseat challenge" which means he has to stay at least 48 more hours until he can be discharged. Hopefully  he will pass on Sunday or else we will be staying even longer. They also want him to be eating ab lib for at least 48 hours and he jsut started that today. He is weighing in at 5lbs 2oz now and is 19 1/2 inches long.

It is pretty difficult trying to juggle spending time at the hospital and taking care of dash --- brent's mom was here for the first week but now i have been going early in the morning before brent goes to work and every evening. I feel like I am not spending enough time there but I know Dash needs me too at this time - i will be glad when he is home and we can figure out a normal routine.

We just pray that he will be discharged soon ---

mackey update

Mackey is 5 days old today and is still in the NICU. He just needs to grow and learn to eat and soon he will be home w/ us! He has lost 10% of his birth weight which is within the normal range and he should start to gain weight in the next few days. He is no longer on any meds or IV's - but he still has the tube down his nose to help w/ his feedings, what he doesn't take from a bottle they have to tube feed him. Right now he is not very good at sucking from a bottle - but everyone assures us that that will just click on one day and then we wont have any issues. I hope that day is soon.

Welcome to the World Mackey!!

Mackey Vincent Pope was born on August 15, 2010 at 9:40am. At 33 weeks gestation, he weighed 4lb 14oz and was 19 inches long. He is still in the NICU and will probably be there for another week or two but is doing as well as expected. He looks just like his big brother - complete w/ the blonde hair that we have no idea where it comes from. My pregnancy was difficult but had a pretty easy labor and painless delivery. He came out kicking and screaming and scored 9 and 9 on his apgars. He is very very long and has giant feet - they look funny connected to his mini body! All the nurses think is an exceptionally cute newborn preemie and I am not going to disagree w/ them.

names names names

why is it impossible for me to name this child? i need help - i feel like i am constantly searching for "the" name, i read credits of movies and tv shows, billboards, new stories, listen to what parents call thier kids at the playground - and still i cannot decide on a name or really even a list of names.

I feel like I am looking for something that just doesn't exist. I want a name that gives off a vibe that I cannot even describe - something cool, yet understated. I don't want it to seem as thought we tried to give him a "cre8tive" name - i just want something different. I want the name to reflect a free spirit but not really a hippie. I want a name that will not limit him but that will allow him to stand out or blend in, whatever he chooses. i think i am just thinking too hard.

 For some reason all the names we kind of like are mostly one syllable names - i dont know why bc they sound kind of funny with our one syllable last name but I am willing to give up flow for that perfect name.
i need ideas --- can anyone help??

July - already!

I cannot believe it is already July! This year is going way too fast and I am not sure I am ready for all the chnages that are going to be happening so soon. I am almost 28 weeks pregnant and am on modified bedrest which doesn't mean much w/ a toddler running around. We are both adjusting to our days spent in the living room instead of outside at the park but I am hoping we both survive.

Preterm Labor has offical started - my cervix has shortened and I am starting to dialate so now we are just trying to keep the contractions under control to prevent any more changes to my cervix. Our goal right now is 30 weeks - only 2 weeks, but I am determined to keep this baby in longer bc there is no way I am ready to have a new baby in only 2 weeks..way too soon!! I am hoping to make it to September - 2 months to go!

Dash still has no idea what is going on -- we have been talking about babies a lot and his new baby but I just dont think he will understand it until the baby is really here! I hope the adjustment will be okay - he is really attached to me and I dont know how he will feel about sharing the attention. We still have no name for this little dude - our list keeps on changing so even if he is born in 2 weeks, he probably will not have a name!