The toughest 48 hours so far...

We have been facing some challenges with little Josiah these past couple of days.  He's been having difficulty sleeping and has been crying a lot.  He's been needing constant motion to help him fall asleep but the second that motion stops or we'd put him down he'd wake up and start screaming again.  This seems to be reminiscent of some of what we experienced while Priya was going through her colicky stage.  But I'm still holding out hope and praying that this is not colic and that it will quickly pass...  I'm making some adjustments diet wise to see if that is the source of his troubles and am hoping for the best.

In the midst of Josiah's struggles, Priya has gotten sick.  And as a result, Ashish and I have been doing quite the juggling act.  Just when we *thought* the kids were asleep, one would wake up screaming.  And before we knew it both kids were screaming and having a really difficult time.  I was really thankful that Ashish was home and that he could care for Priya when I had to go back and tend to Josiah's needs.  I can't imagine how parents with more than 2 kids do it - or parents that are doing it alone!  I thought one child was tough....

Priya is beginning to show the impact of the changes in our household through some less-than-desirable behavior.  It breaks my heart to see her struggling and particularly to see that she is upset with me for spending so much time with Josiah and not as much with her.  I'm so thankful for family and friends who have spent time with her these past few weeks, but I can't seem to shake the feeling of guilt that I'm neglecting her.  I know that it's a phase and that it's good for her to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her, but it's a challenge none-the-less.

But on a more positive note, dealing with an infant this time around, I have a diffierent perspective which helps a great deal!  Priya's colicky phase came to a welcome end at 3 1/2 months and she was a completely different little girl from that time on.  I knew in my head that it would eventually pass with her but I had no idea what to expect as I'd never been through it before and the emotional and physical toll that it took was tough.  Yes, each child is different but it really does help to know that we've been around the block at least once before and that there is an end to the difficult and exhausting infant phase.  It helps me to appreciate this stage of Josiah's life a bit more, although I do admit that I'm looking forward to a few months from now when we'll see more of his emerging personality, we'll be getting more sleep, and will be stepping into fun new stages of development.

Priya meets Sleeping Beauty

My dad took Priya on a special adventure this morning.  She got to meet Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) at a special event that took place at our local Barnes & Noble.  From the looks of it, she became Aurora's special buddy and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  Thanks, Dad, for making Priya's day and taking her to this special event!

Lots of ground to cover...

Josiah is only 2 1/2 weeks old and I am already getting behind on posting updates of our adventures these past couple of weeks.  Things are continuing to go quite well.  Josiah is a fantastic sleeper and eater - two things I was quite concerned about after our experiences with his older sibling.  I was thrilled when he slept 4 hours straight at night, then he jumped up to 5 1/2 and he's bumping it even further now at more than 6 hours.  Am I dreaming?  What a blessing (and a huge answer to prayer)!  At his 2 week check-up he weighed in at 8 lbs even and was 20 1/2 inches.  He's measuring in the 50th percentile across the board.  When he was born he was 7 lbs, 10oz.  When we left the hospital he was down to 6 lbs, 15 oz.  So he has bounced back nicely and is noticeably growing.

It's funny though.  Priya is 3 years and 2 months old and weighs exactly 25 lbs and is 3 feet tall.  She is small for her age but now that Josiah has entered the picture she seems huge to me.  It's hard to imagine that she was even smaller than Josiah not too long ago (6 lbs, 1 oz and 18 in when she was born). It's all a matter of perspective...

We celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with family at the Meredith home. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera with us so we weren't able to capture the memories there.  The following evening we celebrated another Thanksgiving meal/birthday/anniversary party (my Mom's birthday, Josiah's birth, Ashish's parents' anniversary, and Phil's upcoming birthday).  Phil and Ami cooked their very 1st turkey (and it was absolutely fantastic might I add).  We had a great time celebrating with the Christians.  And Priya provided some fun entertainment for us (dancing along with the Chipettes).

Yes, that is Priya's leg pictured below - as Ashish was applying some antibiotic ointment and preparing a new dressing for the night.  She had an unfortunate accident at the Christian home on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (November 21).  She and Ami were sitting on their coffee table together and it broke!  The top was made of glass and both Ami and Priya sustained injuries in the fall.  Ami bruised her back quite badly and had cuts on her hip (fortuantely Ami didn't need any stitches).  Priya cut her leg and ended up with 9 stitches.  Needless to say she adamantly hates doctors now that she's had 2 traumatizing experiences in the past several months - 1) going to the ER after throwing up 40-50 times in 24 hours and being seriously dehydrated and 2) the stitches in her leg.  Thankfully she's a tough girl and seems to bounce back quickly.  She proudly shows her battle wound now that the stitches have come out.

Priya continues to do well with the transition to no longer being an only child.  She is acting out a bit more than usual but overall she is very excited to be a big sister and lavishes Josiah with love and affection.  She runs to our room first thing in the morning or anytime she comes home and makes a beeline for Josiah.  My favorite line that she regularly uses with him is, "Oh Josiah, you're so romantic."  She learned that word from the Chipmunks Valentine DVD.  She'll throw in a "You're so dashing" every now and then too.   Below Josiah attempts to return some of that affection to his sister.  :)

These photos of Josiah were taken yesterday (December 2).  He is one of those rare babies who does not like to be swaddled (he gets really frustrated to not be able to move his arms) so I gave him a little bit of a break from being swaddled during one of his naps.  The result was pure cuteness.

He reminded me of Superman in this shot - ready to take off and save the world.

Tonight (December 3) we had a great time attending the Cooper-Heath residence Christmas party.  Each floor had a different activity and we were thrilled to be able to take part in the fun.  First floor had photo ops with Santa and Jesus.  Second floor had cookie decorating (sadly I didn't get any pics there).  And third floor had crafts.  Priya was so excited that Santa was in our residence hall - and even more thrilled when he gave her a candy cane.

The kids' first picture with Santa. :)

Decorating a Christmas ornament with Emily Johnstone.

Home From the Hospital

There is so much to share!  I don't even know where to begin!  So I'll start by backing up a bit...

As I said in my previous post, Josiah appeared on the scene about 6 hours earlier than we had previously expected.  My c-section was a smooth and positive experience (very similar to my previous experience when Priya was born).  I was disappointed that it wasn't my doctor doing the surgery but was given good care by the doctor who was on call.  I also really appreciated the rest of the team who assisted in the process as well as the care that I received in the hospital during the four days that I stayed there.  On several occasions I felt like I was being pampered - kind of like being at a day spa!  Although the circumstances, of course, were quite different.  Day spas don't typically cut you open or put multiple needles in your hands and arms...

Josiah and I were fortunate to get a double room to ourselves which gave us a lot of space for visitors and peace and quiet (not to mention privacy) when we were trying to sleep.

One of the highlights for Ashish and I was seeing Priya and Josiah meet for the first time.  Priya was a little unsure of him at first and didn't really want to come close.  But it only took a few minutes for that wall to come crashing down and she has been a loving, doting (and very curious) big sister ever since.  She loves to hold him, give him kisses, and share her toys with him.  She also enjoys entertaining him by singing him songs and talking to him.

After 4 days in the hospital, Josiah and I were released on Friday, November 19 at around 5pm.  Priya was especially thrilled to be taking us home (as you can see if you look closely at her face in the photo below).

Our first night home couldn't have been much better!  We enjoyed some family snuggle time before putting the kids to bed.  And then Josiah slept a whopping 4 hours straight - two times during the night!  It was the best sleep I'd gotten in months!!  Sleep wasn't an easy thing to come by when Priya was a baby so this was a very welcome surprise.  I hope it continues...

No, Priya and Josiah didn't sleep in the same bed, but Josiah came by for a visit in the morning when Priya woke up. 

This evening (Saturday, November 20) we attended a Thanksgiving dinner put on by VIDA, the Hispanic Club here at SU.  I had fun dressing Priya and Josiah in coordinating outfits.  ;)  At the end of the dinner we were thoroughly entertained as Priya, her buddies Bella and Lucy danced with some of our Simpson students and then serenaded us via microphone with some rather fabulous songs.

Welcome to the world Josiah Austin Christian!

Josiah Austin Christian entered the world on Tuesday, November 16 weighing in at 7 lb, 10 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.  He threw us a minor curve ball and decided that he wanted to make a surprise grand entrance.  At around 3am on Tuesday morning I woke up and found myself in labor and arrived at the hospital at 5am.  My doctor unfortunately wasn't the doctor on call but Josiah and I were given great care by Dr. Oliva.  She checked me and confirmed that I was in active labor but gave me medication to stop the labor because they were short staffed and already overflowing with patients.  They didn't think they'd be able to deliver Josiah earlier than his scheduled 12:30pm appointment.  But about 5 minutes later they decided that I was still progressing too quickly so they immediately began prepping me and had him out by 6:30am.

Josiah is an amazing baby!  On the first day he only cried when he was first born and the rest of the day only made little squeaking and grunting noises.  He is so content and sweet!  Both of us are doing great!

More to come...

Two Days To Go!!

We are definitely in the home stretch!  I can't believe that I've made it this far and that baby Christian has stayed put this long!  We are eager and ready to meet him!  Priya seems to waver back and forth between being excited and...well...not so excited.  We're sure we'll have a transition with her as she gets used to sharing the spotlight.  But we think that overall she's going to be a fantastic sister and will be very excited once she realizes more clearly what is about to happen and how much fun it will be to have a little brother (especially as they both get older).

I'm excited about moving on from the not-so-glamorous side effects of being pregnant.  Just think, in two more days I won't be throwing up anymore (I'm VERY excited about that), I still won't be getting much sleep but I'm hoping and praying that the insomnia lessens as it did after Priya was born.  And I'll no longer feel like I'm walking around with a bowling ball between my legs.  TMI?  ;)  I'm also looking forward to being able to walk around more without worrying that it'll cause me to go into early labor! 

All-in-all I'm filled with gratitude and a thankful heart.  This pregnancy has been a difficult one but it's been such a blessing to have this extra time to really focus on Priya and to have that extra special mommy/daughter time.  It's been nice to feel that I have more emotional reserves for Ashish and to stand by him even more during the challenges he faces daily with his educational endeavors.  I'm thankful that I'll still have a job after the completion of my maternity leave - and that it's a job that I love and will enjoy returning to - despite the tug in my heart that will make it difficult to not be at home full time with my kids.  I'm thankful for the safety and health of the baby and for the excellent care that we have both received from our doctor.  I'm thankful for the supportive family and friends who have lent a listening ear, helpful words of wisdom and prayers that have been offered up.  We are truly blessed and are excited to meet our newest blessing face to face in less than 48 hours!!

Only 2 Weeks To Go!!!

37 weeks and counting...  I can hardly believe it!  It's 12:38pm PST on November 2, 2010.  Two weeks from today at this time Ashish and I will have the chance to see our son for the very first time!  I'm getting so excited!!!  :)

And boy oh boy, has the nesting instinct ever kicked in over these past few days!  I've been wondering when that would start.  :)  We're even getting ready for Christmas a bit early this year.  Priya and I put up the tree together this morning.  I know, I know, it's only November 2 but I don't think I'll be up for Christmas decorating after the baby arrives. ;)