Reading Illuminated

In the last week, Drake has entered the land of the dorks. I have known that this day would come, I just did not realize that it would come at the young age of two and a half. You see, he comes from a long line of dorks; I did this, his aunts did this, and I am sure that generations before participated in the same sort of activities. Drake has started to read in bed using just the illumination of a flashlight.

Each night after we have read his two stories, we tuck him in and say goodnight. Once we have left his room, Drake gets out of bed, selects another book or two, and reads to himself. This individual reading time typically does not last long as I often hear the book hit the floor just minutes after leaving his room. Typically he turns the flashlight off before falling asleep but last night this is how we found him.

We are actually thrilled that Drake enjoys reading so much and has independently decided that he would like to read stories on his own. We would like to thank Amanda, Jeff, and Ellie for gifting Drake the flashlight that has enabled this special reading time. I think it is almost time for Ellie to receive a flashlight of her own and embark on the road to dork-hood.

Three Weeks Old

Evie is three weeks old today and is continuing to grow and thrive. Her face gets fuller everyday and I can already see that the newborn clothes are getting smaller. She is starting to stretch her nighttime feedings to about 4 hours, which is nice for me and my sleep. Hopefully we can continue to stretch those a bit longer and get to 5 hours between feedings soon. She continues to be a great baby that we are lucky to have as part of our family.  

Two Weeks Old

It is hard to believe that Evie is already two weeks old. She is doing well and seems to continue to gain weight. Last week she had a doctor's appointment on Monday and then a follow-up weight check on Thursday. In those three days, she averaged a weight gain of 1.25oz per day, which is quite impressive as the doctor was just hoping for a .5oz gain per day. Quite a testament to her willingness to eat and my body's willingness to produce. We have a follow-up weight check this Friday and I am hopeful that she'll be well above her birth weight of 7lbs.

Drake continues to be a great big brother. I think he is adjusting fairly well although he has had some tantrums, which is something he did not do prior to Evie's arrival. He has also regressed a bit in his potty training, but I know we will get back to where we were soon.

I had my two week post-op appointment yesterday and my incision is healing well. I'll go back in four weeks and hopefully be cleared for all normal activities. All-in-all, we are doing well, just a bit sleep deprived

Big Brother Drake

We had no idea how Drake would react to Evie's birth. We had talked with him about how he would be a big brother and would have a sister. He knew his sister's name would be Evie, but I think the idea of an actual person coming for a two and a half year old is pretty abstract. Some days he would seem excited about the idea but other days he would say "No want it".

When Drake met Evie for the first time, he seemed excited about looking at her and watching what she was doing. The excitement and interest was short lived and he was ready to leave after about ten minutes. He came to the hospital again the second day we were there and again was excited and actually kissed her when it was time to leave.

Since we have been home, Drake has been great. We have tried to keep him on his normal schedule as best as possible. He has been going to school and had his normal gymnastics class this Monday. He has been great with Evie and has been very interested in holding her when we let him. I'm sure throughout their lives they will have their moments but I hope they will be great friends.

Introducing Genevieve the V

Genevieve Lee

October 2 at 3:05pm

7 pounds

19.75 inches

On Wednesday, October 2, we welcomed the newest addition to our family, Genevieve. Evie was born via a scheduled, repeat c-section in Greenville, South Carolina. I was very happy that the same doctor that delivered Drake agreed to deliver Evie even though she was not the on-call doctor for the day. I felt very comfortable with Dr. Frederick when Drake was born, so when I decided that I would be having a repeat, I knew that I wanted her again.

After a short delay due to a smoke fire on the NICU wing and the whole floor being locked down, it was off to the operating room. It seems as though I am always one of the easiest patients that a doctor has ever had and without incident, the spinal was administered and I was laid on the table. Having not experienced birthing in a different way, I will say that it is a very odd experience having a c-section. I am not able to see what is going on, but my doctor is good to give me updates on what is going on. David is also very interested in what is happening, so he is allowed to move about the operating room and see everything that is happening. All I can do it listen to the updates and feel the tugging sensation. Dr. Frederick gave David the cue that Evie was about to enter the world and suddenly I heard her first cry.

David spent the remainder of the operation holding Evie and sitting next to my head so we could all three be together. It seemed like this c-section took longer than Drake's but once I was finally closed up, we headed to the recovery room. This hospital does do a great job of keeping the family together the whole time even during surgery and I was able to nurse as soon as we were in recovery.

Once we made it to the room we would call home for three days, Drake was able to meet his sister for the first time.