Tyler: 7 weeks!

Okay. Yeah I forgot to post anything about Tyler at one month...oops! So I'm posting a 7week update on him. Hey, it's been busy around here! Hunter is in this "terrible 2" stage like big time! His jealousy is starting to subside which is somewhat of a relief but things are starting to get a little better.  I did have a rough few weeks there. Okay back to Tyler... like I have said before he is 100% opposite of how Hunter was since day one.  Tyler weighs 12 pounds and is 24 inches long.  When Hunter was 7 weeks he weighed 9 pounds and was 23 inches long.  He is already growing out of some of his 3 month clothes and is also in a size 2 diaper.  I tried holding him off as long as I could with keeping him in size 1 diapers because we got a huge stock pile of size 1 diapers from friends that I hate to not use but after having blow out after blow out of poop in all of his clothes, I decided it was time when he was 5 weeks old to move up a size.  Sean causally mentioned the other day that we could just save them in case we have another baby and I quickly replied, "yeah right!, I hope you are having the next one, because I'm not!" (Especially not any time soon, I'm still working on the weight loss here).  Tyler's been super smiley lately and melts my heart every time he does it.  He even smiles a lot when Hunter gets close to him.  It's so cute.  I managed to get a photo of Hunter kissing him on his changing table which he makes sure to do every morning when we get him dressed.   

 

I took this of him at the doctor's office while waiting for the doctor.  So cute!  He loves sticking his tongue out now while smiling. 

 

One of Ty's silly faces.

 

I love how Hunter is really trying to bond with him even though he wishes that he could play with him.  He will put his cars and parts to his trucks in his crib or around his changing table and every night I have to go in Tyler's room to pick up what he left or else I step on it in the middle of the night.  LOL.  Tyler's also really used to dealing with all the noise Hunter makes with his yelling and screaming around the house so he is able to sleep just about anywhere now in case he dozes off.  I mostly have him in his room anyway because we've been working on having him sleep in his crib instead of his swing  so I just have his video monitor on me wherever Hunter and I are at the time. Tyler is also sleeping at night on average about 5-6 hours straight and then wakes to eat and goes right back down for another 3 hours.  About once a week though he will sleep for the 5-6 hours straight and then be wide awake for almost 2 hours.   He's not fussy at all but just thinks its time to play but I can't help to not be cranky about it because he just smiles and coos the whole time and he's so cute to cuddle with so I we just get up and wait for Hunter to wake up.  Those days I drag a lot but like I said it's usually just once a week.  I usually am able to take a nap when Hunter takes one at lunchtime and Tyler takes one with me so I'm not completely sleep deprived especially the days when Sean is working so much and it's just me here. 

Here's Hunter helping Ty do Tummy Time

 

We also had some visitors this past week!  My dad and his wife, Elaine - aka "Maw Maw" and "Paw".  We had a really nice time with them and glad that they were able to visit.  Hopefully, next time they will be able to stay longer because they made a short trip but Hunter had a great time and loved being with them.

 

Fun playing at the park.

 

Maw Maw enjoying the boys.

 

Pumpkin carving time! 

I can't believe that Tyler is just about 2 months old.  It seems like just yesterday that I was still pregnant wondering when he was going to be here.  We're so happy that he is here!

 

I love my boys!

 

Oh brother ...

Now that things are somewhat settled in our house with us being a family of 4, things for Hunter are starting to become a little more clearer.  He has officially become jealous.  Not that I didn't think this would happen at all, I just didn't know in which ways he would express them in and the fact that he is in that "terrible two" stage.  For instance, whenever I'm feeding Tyler this is pretty much the only time Hunter acts like he really needs something and acts out on it if he doesn't have it right away.  He points to Tyler and starts crying and saying, "Ty!".  He gets so mad because he knows that its him that is preventing him from me getting up right away.  Then he does something that he knows he is not allowed to do and always results in  a Time Out that is enforced right away as best as I can while feeding Tyler (btw, we have 2 Time Out chairs on each end of the house for this).  Lately, he already knows that he did something wrong and has already been heading for the chair before I say anything....haha!  Another example, of his "jelly" and I think a little bit of him being that "typically 2 year old pushing the limits" is  before bed we either watch Barney or Youtube videos on the computer and this is also the time that Tyler goes through a tough period trying to put himself to sleep and I need to keep going in his room to check on him (almost always just to insert his paci and re-swaddle him) but while I am doing this Hunter will either a). touch the remote to the TV and push all the buttons that either cause the volume to sky rocket or do something to the movie or b) touch mommy's computer and cause some issue with it if we are watching Youtube videos.  He knows better that these are both off limits and to not do either of them before Tyler arrived but now this is his "jelly" acting out. In my world, he so funny because Tyler is such a good baby that he pretty much sleeps and eats all day (with the awake time that Hunter participates in) so those 20 minutes that I feed him are so miniscule compared to the whole day that he gets my full attention.  Haha.  I totally feel his frustration because I did spend all of my time with him before Tyler was here so I'm just being patient and letting him get through this and he did turn 2 so he is testing us more.  The one really good thing is that he does love being involved with "Ty".  He always wants Ty to take a bath with him and always gives him kisses.  He also loves to help me give Ty his paci when he starts to get fussy and I always let him pull up the chair to Ty's changing table to let him see me change his diaper and get him dressed.  Hunter picks out his outfit every morning =).

Hunter loves participating with Tyler when he's on his play mat.  It's so cute.

Now that Hunter is 2, he has been talking a lot more.  Not like full blown sentences all day long but he is always pointing out everything to us and whenever Sean and I tell him a new word that he hasn't heard he always repeats it.   Before I took him out of day care, the director did mention to me that he may need to be evaluated by a speech therapist and I got really concerned.  I wasn't too worried because all of his teachers were bilingual and Hunter followed their directions in Spanish but he always knew what I was saying too.  So I knew that Hunter probably wasn't too sure at how to answer anyone whether if it was in English or Spanish so that is why I thought perhaps he was a bit delayed.  Plus, I knew that when I was going to be home on maternity leave that he would pick up more words because I was home with him more.  Also, he wasn't even 2 years old yet and I knew that boys are usually more delayed that girls.  When I took Hunter to his new pediatrician (which I love and is also Tyler's), I asked him about the whole language thing and he said as long as he can say approximately 50 words that he is fine and he can clearly say that many.  I asked him about being evaluated by a speech therapist and he told me that I do not need to be concerned at all if he isn't picking up new words easily and if he was nearing 3 years old and couldn't say more than about 50 words then yes, I would need to.  So that is a relief for me.   Hunter is such a sweet boy and loves to give all of us kisses and hugs.  He loves to dance and sing his ABC's.  He is starting to really show his personality and at times he tells me that he just wants to play and be by himself in his room!  LOL.  He will tell me to go and will shut the door and say "bye mommy". Then 5 minutes later I will go in and see the mess he made with all his books all over the floor and will ask me to read to him.  He still loves his cuddle time with me and always leans on me and says, "cuddle?" and wants to hold my hand.  My heart melts and hope that it lasts forever.  He is all boy and loves animals of all sorts.  He loves to go on walks and look for lizards and of course loves playing in water, especially his pool. I am looking into to putting him back into daycare part time because  I know he misses being around other kids.  He does have a little playmate who name is Hannah and she is 3 that lives in our neighborhood.  I try and have him see her about once a week and he loves her and that helps.  I love seeing him interact with her now that he is older because she talks to him like he is her little brother and he does whatever she says! He really enjoys playing with her.  LOL. 

Anyway, so far the SAHM job has been pretty good.  Yes, I have moments where I want to scream for a second but overall, I can't complain.  Naptime and Dinner/Bed time are the toughest part of my day because that is  when they both almost always need me at the same time but we get through it.  Tyler is such a great baby and he is becoming more aware so he does need more awake time which is great because he is smiling more and is starting to be used to the noise from Hunter.  He is growing like a weed and I'm going through Hunter's hand-me down clothes more faster than I did with Hunter.  Tyler goes for his next checkup in 2 weeks and I've already weighed him and he weighs 10.5 pounds at 5 weeks old so I'm thinking he will be 11 pounds at that appointment.  These boys are going to be the complete opposite!  I already see it.



Love these boys so much.

 

Life in the Hapgood House...

Since Tyler has been here (3 weeks!) we've all been adjusting to having our 4th member of the family.  Nana (Sean's stepmom) and Mimi (my mom) have come to visit during these 3 weeks and have been a tremendous help. I'm so glad that they were able to be here and spend time with the two of them.  You kind of don't know where to start because you've been on such a routine with your 2-year old that having a newborn makes it a bit more challenging.  You have one more to watch and check on (not that I didn't know that) and finding ways to make it easier on yourself is the challenging part (aka super multitask) ; plus making time for yourself and getting enough rest comes into play.  I will say this: Tyler is a lot easier than Hunter was. Hunter was definitely not a sleeper like Tyler and he just goes with the flow. Tyler is a sleeper but now that he's 3 weeks old  he is more aware.   About every other night he goes through a fussy period around 8:30 pm for about 2 hours where he is overstimulated and I'm wondering if I just need to keep him up a little bit more during the day but other than that he is great!  

 

Here is Tyler compared to Hunter at this stage (not trying to compare the two of them already but its such a huge difference!):

• Tyler takes a pacifier already- Hunter didn't take one until he was 4 months old
• Tyler takes a bottle - Hunter didn't take one until he was 7 weeks old
• Tyler has been out of the house the first week he was born (he's such a good baby that's why!) - I didn't take Hunter out of the house until he was about a month and a half old
• Tyler sleeps in his crib and loves it - I didn't even attempt this with Hunter until he was about 3 months old
• At 2 weeks old, Tyler weighed almost 9 lbs - Hunter didn't even weigh near that until he was about 2 months old

Such a big difference already!  My pediatrician said that the second born child is 99% easier than the first.  I guess that's because we are so relaxed with the second one.  Haha. 

I was really worried about how Hunter was going to be when Tyler arrived and has completely taken me by surprise.  He is very interested in him and whenever he is awake he likes to be next to him and put his face right up to his which does make me nervous but I guess that's his way of getting to know him.  Then sometimes he will give him a kiss on his cheek.  There's been a few times when he plays with one of his soft balls that he has thrown it to Tyler and we have to remind him that Tyler can't catch and throw yet (haha).  Hunter has his moments of jealousy too but I know it's normal.  For instance, I went to change Tyler on Hunter's changing table in his room and Hunter threw a fit.  I totally didn't see that coming and had to teach him that he has to share that with Tyler every now and then. He does surprise me though.  I have usually been waiting for Hunter to finish up with his bath and then I'll give Tyler a bath in the baby tub in the tub after he is done.  Well, the other night, Hunter grabbed his baby tub and put it in the tub and kept saying, "Ty, Ty, tub" (that's what Hunter calls Tyler..so cute!). So, since then I've been able to give them a bath at the same time and Hunter helps! Which reminds me, I need to take a picture of that!

While Nana and Mimi were here we were able to go to a few places and had a great time with them (Nana came first and then one day later Mimi arrived):

 

We went to an alligator farm with some other animals which was so cool because I've never seen an alligator up close before.  Hunter loved it!



Look at our tour guide so close to the alligator!

Hunter could have held a baby alligator but was scared to much to hold it. Tyler got to see him too =)

Nana!

 

Hunter and Nana playing with one of his birthday gifts.



Here is where we went to a Botanical Wildlife Garden with a bunch of different animals.

Hunter is very interested in ducks these days so we took him to feed them at a nearby park.

A proud Mimi holding her 2nd grandchild.

Mimi swimming with Hunter.

Also, Hunter had his 2nd birthday party!  I chose the theme of Cars. He loves that movie and figured that was perfect.  Plus, Walmart has a big pack of decorations that was perfect because with Tyler being 2 weeks old I knew I would have zero time to make any or do anything creative.  I really wanted to have a party for him and made it a "Hunter 2nd birthday/welcoming Tyler" party.  My mom was in town over that weekend and helped me take care of food and all the party necessities so a huge thanks goes to her for that.  Also, Sean's mom went to a yard sale and they had some leftover decorations from someone else that had a Cars theme birthday party so she picked up all the Cars stuff they had.  They were a hit! I was glad that I had so much help with organizing it because I was still in a little bit of pain and stressed making sure everything was ready in time. Not to mention I just had a baby 2 weeks prior.  I would have never imagined doing this with Hunter and didn't realize that I was having it so quickly after Tyler was here but it all worked out. We had about 8 kids come plus their parents so we had about 18 people over for a pool party.  The party turned out great and all the kids had a great time. I never thought there would be so many kids in the pool!  Sean and a buddy of his sure had a workout that day with being in the pool with all of them! I'm unable to get in because of my C-section, which I'm still so bummed about.  I have to wait a few more weeks until I'm all healed.  I'm hoping the pool is still warm at that time =)

 

All the kids picking up the candy from the piñata.

Thank goodness for Publix cakes!  I love how they can make a cake with cupcakes!

Hunter and his buddies!

Sean with all the kids underwater.  I love my husband...he's such a big kid.

Here were the Cars boxes that Sean's mom was able to get at that yard sale and the kids playing with them....

 

...and the big kids playing with them.=)

 

 

BTW, this post took me about 3 days to write with all the action going on around here!

 

Tyler's birth story...

Tyler made his big arrival on September 5, 2013 at 9:30 am.  He weighed 8 pounds even and was 20 inches long.  At midnight (the night of Sept. 4) I checked into the hospital to start the process of being induced. My doctor decided it was finally time and the fact that Tyler was only getting bigger that if he didn't induce me then,  he would probably end up having to to do a C-section if we waited another week because of the weight he was gaining. Well, the morning of September 5, my doctor came in to check on me and to break my water.  I had so much fluid that I honestly felt like I lost 2 lbs from it all coming out! He checked me and could not feel his head and realized that he must have moved around a lot to where he was breach. He needed to do a C-section very soon and that left Sean in a bind at the house because his parents weren't supposed to come to the house until around 10 or 11 am and my doctor told me that he was going to do the surgery at 9:15 am.  We decided that taking him to day care was best and the quickest sitter for us.  Sean literally walked into the surgery room right before they were going to cut me.  I was very scared and told my doctor that he was to not cut me open until he arrived (haha,  he was waiting on him anyway but Sean really did cut it close though). I was really not a fan of having a C-section and knew that this was the only way for him to come out and plus I was already 6  cm dilated at this point and really starting to feel the contractions and was just ready for him to be here.  After it was all said and done, it wasn't so bad =)  Tyler came out perfect and I was able to see pretty much everything happening to him when he came out. I could see the table that they put him on to clean him up and check all of his vitals.  The hospital where I delivered him stressed the importance of bonding right away with your baby so they verified with me that they do not take him away from me until I recover. Sean actually took him back to my room until they stitched me up but that was a whole 15-20 minutes and then I would be able to have him for the rest of my stay. That was my biggest concern that they would take him away and I would be able to bond/breastfeed with him right away but they assured me. 

Tyler Michael Hapgood

 

 

 

Look at all my blonde hair!

 

 

I was in pain pretty bad for the first 2 days but then on the 3rd day I was walking around and feeling much better (I was in the hospital for 4 days).  Today I hardly take any medication at all and I'm moving around quite a bit.  They take my staples out this Friday and hoping that is painless. 

In the hospital when Hunter came to visit, Tyler gave him some new Cars (from the Cars movie) that went into a Cars case.  He loved it.  Hunter also surprised us and climbed up in the bed with me and held out his arms asking to hold him.  It was so cute and Sean and I felt relieved.  We didn't want to pressure him about meeting his brother but we  introduced them and waited for his reaction because at 2 years old we weren't quite sure up to that point how much he really understood.  Hunter has been so wonderful with him.  He gets excited when I ask him to help me give him a bath or change his clothes.  Even in the mornings when we get up he wants to give him a kiss and give him his blanky and paci. I'm so relieved! Also, I don't want to speak to soon, but Tyler is an amazing baby.  He hardly cries and is an awesome sleeper!  Since we've been home I've been sleeping 7 hours and waking up a couple of times just to feed him and he goes right back to sleep.  He's the complete opposite of how Hunter when he was a baby.  Hopefully, this lasts!

Here's Tylers gift to Hunter of his Cars set.

 

Tyler's first kiss from his big brother.

 

 

Hunter turned 2 years old on the day we brought Tyler home so we just did a little birthday with him.  Sean's stepmom, Lynda (Nana) is here helping so we had her to celebrate with.  Later on this month we are having a birthday party/welcoming Tyler party for them so he will have a formal birthday.  Plus why not start now with the sharing of birthdays for them!?  They have to start getting used to it anyway =)

 



I love my boys!