Mall Day with Grandma

On September 20th, Susan and Nic took Hudson to Gymboree while Luc and I watched from the waiting area. Hud was very excited to have his grandma in class with him. :)

After class, I fed Luc while Hudson watched the fish, played in the indoor play area and rode the train.

Then we went to Wokano for lunch. It was my first sushi in months and it was delicious!!! The boys were both so good and we had a great meal outside on the patio. After lunch we grabbed some menchies then went home. Who knew the mall could be so fun?!! :)

Ruby and Rachelle Visit

On September 19th, Rachelle and Ruby came to visit. I swear, Ruby has to be the cutest thing I have ever seen! She is at such a fun age and was such a doll. Luc wasn't a huge fan of our photo taking, but Ruby was a pro. Hud was outside playing with grandma and brought Ruby in a flower! He really loves her!! Rachelle was so sweet and brought us dinner and cupcakes. I'm so lucky to have such an awesome best friend and I'm very excited to watch our kids grow up together. 

Pool with Grandma

The afternoon of September 17th, Susan and I took the boys up to the pool. When we first got up there it was nice and breezy, but as soon as the breeze stopped, Luc got hot and fussy fast so we didn't hang out to long. Hudson and Susan had a wonderful time though!! Hudson has been loving having his Grandma here. 

Stanley Cup

After the Kings won the 2012 Stanley Cup, we were invited to an event to get pictures with the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, the event was in July when I was on bedrest so I couldn't go. A few months later a friend posted a picture of her baby in the Cup on Instagram. Apparently the cup had been at our local mall the day before! I couldn't believe I missed the opportunity to get Hudson's picture with the cup. He had been at the championship game and I was super bummed that I didn't have a picture of him sitting in the cup like my friend did of her daughter. Well, when the Kings won the cup again, this time with Luc in my belly, I was determined to get his photo with the cup. We found out the event was on September 17th so I knew I had to get Luc out in a timely manner and I was taking him no matter what! haha. So, on September 17th, the boys, my mom, Sabrina and I went to Staples Center to get our photo with the Stanley Cup. On our way through security, we saw Luc Robitaille. I shouted out to him and frantically tried to get through the metal detector. I ditched the stroller and left Sabrina to handle it as I ran after Luc. I told him my one week old was named after him and could we please get a photo with him. He was on his way to a meeting that he was late for, but he said of course. I quickly grabbed Luc out of the stroller, which was still blocking the entrance (oops. Luckily the fans behind us in line were very understanding and graciously accepted my apology). Then Sabrina handed me Hudson and we got our photo. Luc was so nice and spent a decent amount of time talking with us, telling me how cute Luc was and asking Hud about hockey and the Kings. What a special experience!!

After that highlight, we went up to get our picture with the cup. Luc had a diaper leak so I rushed off to change him before our photos. I got back just in time to throw on my jersey and Hud's jersey before it was our turn. As you can imagine, I was feeling a bit frantic. We took a group photo then I asked if we could put Luc in the cup. The lady was hesitant, but ended up getting permission. I threw in a few blankets and then plopped Luc in. Then we took a photo of just me and the boys. After our official photos, we went back once or twice when the line was empty to take a few more photos on our phones.

Then we had some food, I nursed Luc, we had some more food, got pictures with the Kings girls, ran into our friend Brandon, then we went home. It was a big day for an 8 day old and for me too, but it was SO worth it! It was an awesome experience!!

9 Months

It is so amazing how much your body changes when pregnant. I took weekly photos again, then picked one from each month. Then I took a photo with Luc one week after he was born. It is so crazy to think that he lived in my belly, growing for 9 months, then in a flash he is here. 

These two photos were taken exactly one week apart! 

Funny story, It was really hard to take the photos holding Luc. It took a lot of strength and was quite awkward to hold him so low down. He got really upset so I sat down to nurse him to try to calm him down. When I pulled down my bra I noticed I was all wet. I knew it wasn't milk so my next thought was sweat. I was thinking wow, crazy hormones, that is a lot of sweat. Then I felt the substance and it was extremely oily. I removed my shirt and bra to find that the oily substance was all over the shirt and all over the bottom portion of the bra. When I googled it, I discovered that Victoria Secret puts gel pads in their very sexy bras (it is built into the bra and can't be removed). Apparently this has happened to a handful of other people. Jillian Michaels actually posted about a similar incident shortly after it happened to me on her facebook page, lol. Thank goodness this happened at home. How embarassing and disastrous for this to happen while out! 

Newborn Photos

On September 16th, we did Luc's newborn photos with Jade Brookbank of the Letter B Photography. Hudson was so excited and jumping up and down on the bed so we decided to go with it and get some photos of him jumping and of Nic throwing him. Hud loved it!! 

I had seen all these gorgeous photos on-line of siblings cuddling sweetly and of course wanted to do the same. Only problem is, most of the older siblings weren't 2 year olds.It was hard to get Hud into the right position, then to get Luc in next to him. Once we finally got everyone situated, Luc started crying hysterically. I had to laugh because it was so real. Not this gorgeous, posed shot, it was probably a glimpse of what most of the next year would be like for us. I was a little bummed though because I wanted the sweet brothers pic. Well, when Jade sent the one of the boys cuddling in black and white my heart melted. I didn't realize she had captured any photos before Luc's melt down and am incredibly happy that I have such a sweet photo of my two boys together.

We got a teepee for Luc's room so we decided it would be cute to get a picture of the boys in it. Hudson was so good about holding Luc. He held out his arms and we just kind of placed him in his lap (he can't really "hold" him). All of a sudden Hud said I'm done and moved his arms. Luckily, Luc was already pretty close to the ground so he didn't fall far. I guess we know now that when Hudson is done he is done. 

We had Luc photographed in the same Campbells soup bucket Hudson was photographed in for his newborn pictures. It is pretty crazy how alike they look! 

1 Week Old

On September 16th, Luc turned one week old. He weighs approximately 8 pounds 4 1/2 ounces. Since he was born Luc has been so strong. He holds his head up and can even lift it completely off my chest. He is an excellent nurser and loves to suck on anything including his hands, arms and pacifier. Luc has given us a few rough nights already, but he mostly likes nursing, sleeping in his mama's arms and pooping. ;) He has barely opened his eyes this week and is still unsure about the world. He loves to be curled up in a ball as if he is still in my tummy. He is such a little cuddle bug and we couldn't be more in love!

2nd Doctor Appointment

On September 15th we took Luc for his second doctor appointment. I was really confident because he had eaten pretty much the entire day Sunday so I knew it would be very unlikely that his jaundice levels would go up. I had also weighed him at home and knew he had gained more weight so I was feeling pretty confident. Sure enough, Luc weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces. The nurse and doctor were both very impressed that Luc had already passed his birth weight less than a week after being born. Apparently, the goal is to reach birth weight by the 2 week appointment, so he was doing great! His bilirubin had also dropped to 9.4 so they said we didn't need to come back until his 2 week appointment. 

We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the house. I practiced using my wrap and Hudson practiced being a baby in the carseat. ;) 

That night Nic and Susan took Hudson to swim. Then my parents, Sabrina and Tyler all came over for dinner. My mom made one of our family favorites Chicken with Green. It has been nice having dinners made almost every night, it sure makes life easier. It was also nice to spend time with everyone and everyone of course loved spending time with the boys. 

Susan Arrives!

On Sunday, September 14th, the Mirkovichs brought over donuts. It was fun to chat with Lindsay and see the girls. I think they had fun playing outside with Hudson and Nic and Tim caught up as well. Plus we appreciated not having to worry about breakfast and donuts are always a delicious treat. :)

That afternoon, while Hudson was napping, Nic picked his mum up from the airport. When Hud woke up from his nap he was so excited to see her. He said hi Grandma and ran to give her a hug. We are so thankful that because of regular skype calls he knows everyone in his Australian family well. It was so exciting for all of us to see Susan and she was overcome with emotion seeing us. She was especially excited to see Hud and met Luc. 

That night Sabrina came over and we had the Chicken Altogether leftovers for dinner. Then Susan and Nic put Hudson to bed. 

1st Doctor Appointment/2nd Day at Home

On September 13th, Luc had his 1st doctor appointment. I wasn't too nervous because we had weighed him at home and new he was gaining weight well and I knew he was nursing a ton, but he was pretty yellow still so naturally we were still a bit concerned.

While we were waiting, Luc got hungry so I began nursing him. I nursed him through most of the appointment too, only stopping when the doctor needed to check him. It is as if he knows he needs to eat as much as possible to help with the jaundice. Everyone was laughing at what a big eater he is. Luc weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces which the doctor was very happy with. Luc also pooped twice while we were there. Dr. Mike said Luc was obviously eating well so to keep that up. His bilirubin level was 11.6 which is a bit worrisome (he mentioned that if my milk hadn't come in so soon and if Luc wasn't such a champion eater we never would have left the hospital because of the cooms).  Since Luc did test positive for cooms, the bilirubin level was especially worrisome so we were sent to the hospital lab to have Luc's blood from a heel prick tested (our pediatrician wasn't able to do it in house because it was Saturday). Depending on the results, we were maybe going to have to do the blanket at home and Dr. Mike for sure wanted to see us Monday. Despite the somewhat worrisome news, I left pretty confident. I knew Luc's bilirubin level was much lower than Hudson's, his weight was great and I was confident in his nursing. 

That afternoon Dr. Mike called with the results. The blood test bilirubin level was 11.6 as well, which Dr. Mike was very happy with as he sort of expected it to be higher than the office reading. He said to see how the next 24 hours go as far as eating and pooping goes and to call him Sunday to determine if we needed to do another heel prick or just wait for Monday's appointment. 

That night my dad brought Corner Bakery over for dinner. Justin and Aubree came over too. It was Justin's first time meeting Luc. :) The first thing Justin said was how small Luc is. He said all the pictures made him look way bigger. While everyone was over, Hud asked to hold Luc. Isn't this just the sweetest? I am obsessed with Hudson and his love for Luc. Every "hi Luc", kiss and cuddle melts my heart. 

1st Day at Home

September 12th was our first day home. We started off the day with cuddles in bed and the boys playing peek-a-boo. I am just loving watching Hudson interact with Luc. Then we weighed Luc. Hudson of course wanted in on the action, haha. Can you believe how big he is?!! We stuck Luc on with his hospital shirt on just to get an idea and he weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces so we were feeling pretty good about his nursing. 

Hud is loving his new doctor gift. He performed check ups on dada and Luc. Luc has been much more alert today and eating really well. He has also been really content which is the best feeling. Luc gets hiccups after almost every feeding which is funny because he had them a ton in my belly too. Hudson rarely had hiccups in my belly and after he was born. So interesting how little differences between them started so early on. I'm interested to see other differences emerge because looks wise it is like deja vu. Luc looks exactly like his big bro. 

I know it was only our first day home, but I am already so different this time around. With Hudson I was in so much pain, completely exhausted, freaked out because of Hud's jaundice and weight issues, and was perfectly happy just sitting on the couch all day for the first month (after the first few weeks of around the clock feeding/pumping marathons). This time I am so used to getting out of the house every day with Hud, plus I am feeling great so I was already getting a bit stir crazy, I decided to set up the stroller and have us go for a walk to the park. By the time we got the stroller set up, both boys fed and ready though, it was so HOT out. We just did a quick walk up and down our street instead. Hudson was pretty excited about his new seat on the stroller and Luc seemed to enjoy the fresh air. I was so happy to be outside even if it was only for a few minutes. :) When we got back we managed to get both boys to sleep at the same time so Nic and I took a nap ourselves! 

That night, Auntie Beena came over and made us Chicken Altogether for dinner. It was delicious and so nice to have one of our favorite meals prepared for us. All in all, our first day home as a family was a success!! 

Hospital~Day 3/Going Home

On September 11th, Luc's vitals were all good and his jaundice score was 7.6 so he was still in the low risk category. My doctor told me I was cleared the day before so we were just waiting on Luc because of his high jaundice risk. Once those results came back good, his pediatrician said we could leave anytime we wanted to that day. The hospital had started its new computer system that week (I was the first patient to use it) and they were taking forever to do things. My doctor wasn't available so another doctor from her practice came to visit me in the morning, but forgot to discharge me. We were all packed and ready to go, including Luc who was fed and dressed, and then we had to wait forever! I ended up ordering lunch at the last minute because I knew we weren't going to be home until much later than we had planned. When we finally got discharged, I needed to feed and change Luc again so we didn't end up leaving the hospital until 2:30pm. 

My mom had mentioned that my Oma wasn't doing well, so on our way home, we made a quick stop to visit Oma and Opa. Oma can't really see anymore so I took her hand and helped her feel Luc's hands and feet. She was very confused, but I'm glad she was able to meet her 2nd great-grandson. Opa was very excited to meet our new little man and it was definitely worth visiting (although it was emotionally very difficult for me). I know we will treasure those photos and Luc will be happy someday that he got to meet Oma and Opa, two very special people.

After that, we drove home. Luc did great on the drive. I texted my mom to tell her we were on the way and as soon as we pulled into the drive the front door opened and Hudson was excitedly waiting for us! He had a huge smile on his face and was so excited to see Luc. He said hi to him, then gave him a kiss and cuddles. My mom took a few family pictures for us then we all settled in on the couch. My mom cuddled with Luc while Hudson opened a big brother gift from his nonna. It felt nice to be home and it felt especially good to be back with Hudson. We missed him so much while we were in the hospital.