One and Two Month Stats

Grant had his 2-month check up this morning.  All went well and he is looking good.  He had to get 2 shots and one oral vaccine.  He wasn't too happy about those but is now sleeping it off in the swing. The doctor was impressed by the number of hours he has just started sleeping at night.  I know talking about it curses it though so I can expect to be up with him all night tonight!

At his one month appointment they didn't give me the percentages from his stats but I got those today.  I don't know why the percentages aren't always consistent though.  Henry weighed one ounce less at 2 months but in Henry's book his percentage was higher.  Oh well!

Grant at 1 month:
Weight: 10lb 7oz (66%)
Height: 22 3/4" (95%)
Head: 38cm (83%)

Henry at 1 month:
Weight: 10lb 9oz (90%)
Height: 23" (95%)
Head: 38cm (50%)

Nolan at 1 month:
Weight: 8lb 12oz (25%)
Height: 21 3/4" (50%)
Head: 38cm (50%)



Grant at 2 months:
Weight: 13lb 3oz (66%)
Height: 24" (85%)
Head:  40.5cm (85%)

Henry at 2 months:
Weight: 13lb2oz 77%
Length: 23 1/2" 75%
Head: 41.5cm 80%

Nolan at 2 months:
Weight: 11lb6oz 50%
Length: 23 1/2" 75%
Head: 39.5cm 45%

2 months and a short get away

Grant is now two months old and I haven't written anything since shortly after his birth!  He is a pretty good baby.  He likes to be held and to eat - a lot.  He doesn't really like the bouncy seat or the swing but has started to tolerate them for short periods of time.  Also, despite lots of trying, he doesn't seem to want a paci.  Both of his brothers were paci addicts so it is quite a change!  He will sometimes take it for a short period of time and seems to be ok with it but other times he spits it right out. He has recently started sleeping through the night, which is great, but there are still some nights that he might wake up one time.  He is also now sleeping in his crib.  Napping during the day isn't the greatest.  For a while he would sleep for several hours in his pack-and-play but since about week six he wakes up as soon as you try to lay him down.  We usually have an afternoon outing where he will sleep well in his car seat.  He also will nap in the Ergo carrier.  He started smiling around week 5 and he is really starting to do it a lot more now at nine weeks.

Last weekend we took a quick get away to the Laird's bay house.  We were supposed to go to their beach house but after an unfortunate hot water heater incident we had to change plans.  Luckily everything worked out even though plans had to be changed slightly.  We spent a good portion of Friday at Palm Beach Moody Gardens.  This is like a small water park perfect for younger kids.  There is a splash pad, lazy river, wave pool, and water slides.  Grant slept well in his stroller while Kevin and I took turns in the water with Nolan and Henry.  After Palm Beach we went down to the Strand and had ice cream at La King's.  The ice cream cups were pretty big but Nolan and Henry managed to eat their whole cup.  We also walked down the Strand a little but it was pretty hot.  That night we went back to the island and ate at Fish Tales.  The plan Saturday morning was to spend some time at the beach before heading home.  There were some storms that morning though so our beach time was cut pretty short.  Of course once we were back at the bay house packing to go home the sun was shining brightly! Even though it was short it was nice to get away.  With a newborn we weren't sure we would do anything this summer.

Grant has his two month check up on Monday.  I am curious to see what he weighs etc.  I will update after the appointment with his one and two month stats.

We are also only one week away from Nolan starting Pre-K!  We have talked it up a lot and I think he is excited.  We will go to "meet the teacher" next Friday.  It will be his first true look at the school. 

I am also just 2 weeks away from going back to work :( I have enjoyed my summer with Grant so I will miss that, but I am not sure I am ready to be home full time with all three.  It will be nice to have a true routine everyday too. 

Grant Murphy

Our little boy is here!  Grant Murphy arrived by repeat c/s at 9:12am on June 11.  Like big brother Henry, he was a pretty big boy weighing in at 9lb 3oz and 21".  We couldn't really tell who he looked like at birth, but now the consensus is that he looks like Nolan as a baby.  He doesn't have quite as much hair as Nolan did but it is the same reddish blond.  So far, at 1 1/2 weeks he is a pretty good baby.  Nolan and Henry just want to eat him up.  Our days are filled with the typical newborn activities of eating, sleeping and pooping. 

Even though my c/s started about an hour later than it was scheduled for, the whole process was so much better than with Henry.  Nothing was really wrong with Henry's, I think I was just filled with a lot of anxiety over the surgery.  This time I really tried to put myself into a calm frame of mind and I think it worked.  The surgery seemed to be over so quickly and best of all I got to immediately hold and nurse Grant in recovery.  With Nolan and Henry, I was able to see them while still in the operating room but they were taken immediately to the nursery and I didn't get to hold them for the first time for a few hours.  Grant didn't leave my side until about 12 hours later when they took him off for a bath.  I was at a different hospital this time and they are really trying to limit the time the baby is away from mom.  Immediately after birth his blood sugar was low (typical in bigger babies) so he had to have a little bit of formula.  Luckily his numbers rose as they were supposed to and no further intervention had to be taken.

Recovery has been pretty easy as well.  Of course the first day or so I was extremely sore, but I stayed on top of my pain meds and was walking the halls of the maternity ward by the second day.  The nurses all had it on my board that I wouldn't go home until Friday but I immediately said I hoped to go home on Thursday assuming all was well with Grant and myself.  The doctors agreed so we came home on Thursday.  The nurses kept commenting on the fact that I was one of the toughest c/s patients they had ever seen!

Nolan had gotten so used to calling my stomach "Woody", that it took several days to learn Grant's name.  In fact, there's been a few times Kevin and I have forgotten his name and called him Henry, Toby and Rhys!  We're still working on our nightly routine getting all three boys down; Daddy has been vigilant keeping the two big boys busy - including lots of swimming - so I can get peace and quiet with Grant.


6/11/2013 Grant Murphy Brock!


The whole Brock Family



Special "Baby Bear Woody" from big brothers


Daddy and his boys


Finally home!

Big Boy Room

In preparation for baby #3 we moved Henry out of the crib and into a big boy bed a few weeks ago.  He went down so easily in his crib so I hated to move him out of it, but I also wanted to make the transition several weeks before baby.  We moved Nolan really close to when Henry was born and that was a little too stressful for me! 

The transition has gone pretty well.  Some nights he really doesn't want to get into bed, but there has only been one where he really fought it.  I left him in there and he cried for a few minutes but then climbed into bed and went to sleep.  I have to sit on his floor most nights until he falls asleep.  Hopefully this can be phased out in the future but usually he is out relatively fast. 

The "theme" of his room is airplanes.  His bedding is just a brown and blue quilt that went with the colors already in his room.  I have found some airplane accessories but they have actually been a little harder to find than I first thought.  I stop into TJMaxx and Marshall's regularly and sometimes I come across some good finds.  I spray painted an old book shelf and dresser brown so even though his furniture is mismatched it all comes together. 

Here are 2 pictures of him on his new bed.

8 down 1 to go!

The end of pregnancy #3 is just around the corner.  I have a repeat c-section scheduled for June 11...just 4 weeks from today!  I had planned on doing some pregnancy update posts but due to laziness and not much to report I haven't done any.

Luckily I have been feeling pretty good.  I get the random ache and pain due to my growing size and by the end of the day my feet and ankles are generally a little swollen, but not too much to complain about.

We are slowly but surely getting ready for his arrival.  Henry has moved to a big boy bed and that is going ok.  Some nights are pretty rough because he just wants to climb out but he tends to stay in all night. The nursery is in complete disarray but I think it will come together pretty quickly.  We just need to get the bed that is currently in the room out of there and then we can finish up. 

How far along:  35 1/2 weeks

Size of baby:  Not sure of the fruit size, but he was 4 1/2 lbs at my u/s a few weeks ago.  Probably close to 6lbs now and ~17.5".
Weight gain:  Steady!  Feels like I gained pretty fast in the beginning but things have slowed down.  I think I will end up gaining just about as much as I did with the last 2...that is if I can keep the last few weeks in check!

Maternity clothes:  yes, definitely.  Even some of the maternity things are getting small.
Gender:  another boy

Movement:  He is a mover and a shaker.  I will often get huge whole belly movements.  Some movements are painful and almost stop me in my tracks. 

Sleep:  Doing pretty well.  I usually get up 1 time a night to go to the bathroom but other than that I sleep through the night.

What I miss:  I kind of miss going to the gym during lunch.  It gave me something to do.  I miss being able to bend over and other easy tasks.
Cravings:  nothing specific.  Spicy and sweet call my name though! 

Symptoms:  nothing right now really...possibly just hunger, I feel it is pretty constant.

Best moment of the week:  Just feeling him move around and knowing that the finish line is in site!

Here is a picture from the u/s I had a few weeks ago.  It is his face but you kind of have to turn your head to really see it.



Nolan turns 4!

Nolan turned four this past week!  The Sunday before his birthday we had a pirate birthday party for him.  He wanted a bouncy house again so we rented one and had an outdoor party where kids could play in the bounce house or on the new swing set.   I think we had about 18 kids ranging from 2 up until 9 in our backyard.  It was a little crazy and packed back there but I think he had fun.  He got some fun gifts and news got out quickly about his new found love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so he now owns a figurine of each character plus a sword and turtle phone.

Pinata time

Trying to blow out the candle

Silly family picture

 On his actual birthday I sent him to school with a cookie cake and some goodie bags for his friends.  He had swim lessons that night so we just had pizza for dinner (his request) and let him have a candle on a cupcake.  I promise I didn’t buy a trick candle but he had a heck of a time blowing it out at both his party and on his actual birthday.

Two days after his birthday we went to the doctor for his 4-year checkup.  He did great and the doctor said he looks like he is growing well and doing well.  She did talk to him about eating fruits and vegetables so that he can grow big and tall though.  Overall she didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that he refuses to eat anything with color to it but did say to just keep trying.  They also performed a vision test.  She said at 4 they often can’t quite do the test yet but he did just fine.  I was told that his vision was 20/30 in both eyes.  He was quite chatty with both the doctor and the nurses so I do not think that there were any concerns over his verbal skills!  He had to get 3 shots but was pretty brave during those.  Dr. CS said that other than flu shots he won’t need any additional shots until age 11!

At this age they no longer give what percentiles they are in for height and weight.  I found a site on-line though that gave me a percentage.

Weight:  33lbs (23%)

Height:  3’ 3-1/2” (30%)  

He is skinny, but Dr. CS said that isn’t a bad thing! 

He just finished up his 2-week intensive swim lessons.  He wasn’t promoted to the next class because he still lacked 2 of the 10 skills you need, but he did do well.  We will now do once a week for the next 6-weeks and then I think he will be fine for us to just work with him this summer. 

Last year around his 3^rd birthday I asked him 20-questions that I will make a scrapbook out of.  I asked the same questions this year.  Below are his responses:

1. What is your favorite color? Orange

2. What is your favorite toy? His 4 new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

3. What is your favorite fruit? Doesn’t like fruit (orange fruit snack)

4. What is your favorite tv show? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & Cheese or pizza

6. What is your favorite outfit? Nice clothes for church

7. What is your favorite game? Cars

8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish, Nilla Wafers, Rocket Ship crackers, PB Ritz Bits, Cheeze Its

9. What is your favorite animal? Elephant

10. What is your favorite song? Foo Fighters

11. What is your favorite book? Fire Truck

12. Who is your best friend? Joseph

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios no milk

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play basketball, jump, and fort

15. What is your favorite drink? Ice water

16. What is your favorite holiday? A candy one

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? all toys that sleep in bed (Baa Baa, Gumbo, Gerald, Piggy, Buzz, Woody, Spiderman, and Brobee)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Waffles

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a daddy  

Weekend Road Trips

Easter weekend we took the boys on a trip to San Antonio.  The main purpose of the trip was to go to Sea World but we also stopped to see the Alamo and go on a river boat cruise.  After the boat cruise we went to dinner at Mi Tierra.  Every time I have been here there has seemed to be a long wait but we lucked out and got seated right away.  Henry had been running a little bit of a fever before we left and I don’t think he was feeling well again so he fell asleep at the dinner table.  After dinner we headed to the hotel.  Checked Henry’s temperature and it was 102°.  Gave him some medicine and a bath and he was back to normal.  In fact Nolan and Henry ran around like crazy for a while after that.  Soon the room started to get really hot.  We called the front desk and they sent someone to look at it.  He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it and said he would have to send someone else.  We waited for a little bit but it was getting late (and hot!) so we called the front desk again and they said they could move us to the room next door.  It was 10:00 before we got the boys in bed!



On the River Boat



At the Alamo



Crazy in the room



The next morning we headed off to Sea World.  We were signed up for a Sesame Street character breakfast.  One of the reasons we decided to do Sea World again was due to the fact that Nolan had gone crazy over meeting them two years before.  Henry is a fan of Elmo and Cookie Monster so we thought he might enjoy doing the breakfast.  Henry was excited when they first walked in but this quickly turned to fear as they started making the rounds.  He was crying and trying to hide under the table.  Poor baby!  Nolan posed with all of the characters.  The breakfast was a little disappointing though.  They didn’t seem prepared for the group.  A lot of food wasn’t ready yet etc. 

 

Sea World!

 

See Henry hiding?!?!

  

After breakfast we headed out to the park.  Nolan rode a Shamu roller coaster several times at “Bay of Play” which is a huge play area for younger kids that is new since last time.  We also saw three shows:  a sea lion one, Azul (a little like a Cirque show), and the Shamu show.  We also stopped at all the other animal exhibits.  The boys had a good time.

After we left the park, in an attempt to see if the boys would nap, we drove to the shops at La Cantera.  They did not nap (actually Nolan fell asleep briefly) but we found a little play scape that they enjoyed playing on.  We capped off the day with dinner at Cracker Barrel!  The next morning everyone was up early so we decided to hit the road and stop at the outlets in San Marcos.  We all stopped at the brand new, huge Buccees where Nolan got a baseball cap and Henry picked out some Buccees Nuggees. They were kind of like a cheese puff but on the spicy side.  He loved them though and didn't want to share! We weren’t able to shop for long because we needed to make it back to town in time for Nolan’s best buds birthday party. 

The next weekend we drove out to Chappell Hill in hopes of finding some good bluebonnet fields.  We saw very few on the drive so I wasn’t sure what we would find.  Eventually we found the same place we went to last year.  I guess a lot of people had the same idea because the field was packed!  The boys looked cute and the field was plentiful but unfortunately they weren’t interested in taking pictures together.  I guess it was too sunny so Nolan wouldn’t open his eyes and kept covering his eyes with his arm.  We got some cute individual shots though.  Nolan even practiced taking a few pictures and he did well.  Maybe he is a budding photographer!  I can't imagine what it will be like next year trying to get three little boys to smile!  After the pictures we went to the place that claims to have the best kolaches to pick one up.  Kevin really wanted a sausage one but they were sold out.  I happily ate my cream cheese one though.  The boys shared a very large cinnamon roll. 



Family picture!



Baby #3 at 30 weeks!