Airing Dirty Laundry

What does Jack do while I'm nursing Luke? He's content to read books for a while, but when he gets restless he tends to get a bit more creative. Take this photo for instance that I took with my cell phone. I don't mean to air dirty laundry clean underwear, but this is what Jack did this morning. That's my underwear drawer around Jack's neck, including Spanx on his head and socks on his hand. I swear it never gets dull around here. :-)

Daddy and Jack

Just two weeks ago, Jack would call my name from his crib when he was ready to get out. Over and over I'd hear, "Mommy, Mommy, Mom...my!" Since Luke's arrival, things have changed a little bit. Now I hear, "MommyDaddy, MommyDaddy, MommyDad...dy!" John has completely embraced this change in our lives. He spent the entire weekend with Jack. I think they'd both agree that the best part of their weekend was a trip to the zoo on Sunday. Jack had not been to the zoo since he was about six months old and too little to remember it. John came home with stories of Jack running excitedly through the zoo, climbing through tunnels for a closer look at the meerkats, and staring at the noisy flamingos. Luckily, John knew that the only thing that could ease the sting of not being able to go along would be pictures and videos to chronicle the event. Here's a peek at the fun my boys shared at the zoo. 

Growing Pains

For the most part, Luke's transition into our family has been pretty easy. Jack is doing better than I ever could have hoped with his new baby brother. But, I'd be lying if I told you that there have not been any growing pains. Take, for example, what happened to my toothbrush this morning. All moms know that once you're a mother, you never get to use the bathroom by yourself anymore. I saw Jack grab my toothbrush and run into the closet, but I was a few paces behind him. By the time I caught up with him, he had cleaned John's dirtiest boots with my toothbrush. Lovely. While the doctor was discharging me on Sunday, her orders were not to lift Jack and no exercise more vigorous than a brisk walk. I don't know what she would have thought of me sprinting down the hill and climbing over the fence one week postpartum in an effort to catch up with Jack who suddenly decided he'd like to try out the neighbor's trampoline. I think Jack likes the new and not-so-improved mother who came home from the hospital a little distracted by another baby. Her distraction makes it easier to rifle through the jewelry drawer that is totally off limits and pull Dad's computer from the nightstand. It seems that the words no and stop are easy to ignore when you know Mom can't get to you anyway. Growing pains only come after a growth spurt, and undoubtedly our family has been through one of those. Hopefully the growing pains are only painful for a little while. 

Newborn Photography

Since I delivered Luke at a different hospital than I delivered Jack, not everything was the same. One of the differences that I did not like was that Luke's hospital did not offer the newborn photography sessions that Jack's hospital did. So, I set out to take a few for myself. Here's the results.

Welcome, Luke!

Luke Marion Seaton joined our family on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 7:31 pm. He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. 

First photo with Mommy

First photo with Daddy

Jack stayed with his grandpa and grandma while I was in the hospital. They brought him to visit on Saturday morning. It was very sweet to watch Jack interact with his new brother. Jack spotted Luke as soon as he walked in the door, and his interest was piqued. He wanted to show me each of Luke's body parts. It was so cute when he started to look for Luke's feet. One foot was exposed while the other was not. Jack said, "More foot?" 

I was relieved that we have spent so much time talking with Jack about gentle touches because he certainly wanted to touch the baby. I really think that all the books that we've read recently about babies were quite helpful. I would suggest that to all of my friends who plan on adding to their families soon. This one as well as this one were especially helpful for us. John and I were also talking about how much it helped Jack to have a baby doll of his own for the last couple of months. 

First photo with Jack

First photo of our family of four

Proof that Luke has a dimple just like his big brother

By the time Sunday rolled around, Luke and I were more than ready to go home. John came to get us around 1:30. We spent the afternoon getting things around the house ready for a baby while we waited for Jack to come home too. Grandpa and Grandma brought him home and the fun really got started. Jack spotted the baby in his bouncy seat and ran over to take a closer look. He spent more time talking about Luke's eyes and nose and other parts and then he decided that he would rather just give Baby Luke lots of hugs. Talk about heartwarming! Pictures below :-). Grandma must have been busy this weekend between caring for Jack and cooking for us because she stocked our refrigerator with lots of yummy stuff. Thank you! 

Ready to go home from the hospital

A hug between brothers

Checking out Baby Luke with Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa with the boys

More hugs

Our family of four. Poor Luke!

A little happier

It's such a relief for many reasons that Luke has finally arrived. Of course I'm glad to not be pregnant any longer, but mostly I'm relieved because everything went better than I could have ever hoped. I worried about Jack feeling abandoned during my hospital stay, but he had the time of his life at his grandparents' house. I worried about how Jack would react to his brother. So far, he's showing only excitement although I know that could change as time goes on. Having Luke on Friday was great timing. Grandpa was able to help Grandma with Jack for the weekend. John was able to spend a lot of time with me and Luke at the hospital since it was the weekend. He also took time to take Jack to a car show on Saturday. Since he has Monday and Tuesday off too, I've got lots of help settling in. I'm definitely feeling like the luckiest woman in the world! Thank you to everyone for your Facebook messages and phone calls. It made this special event in our lives seem like an even bigger celebration.