Giggles and timeouts

Well Jonny is full on giggling. It's freakin awesome. I forgot how much joy comes from watching an infant learn to laugh. My technique is simple. I take my hand and lightly grab his chest, with my fingers tucked under each armpit. And then I gently shake. It cracks him up. He opens his mouth so I can see his toothless smile and his head moves back and forth while his hands shake. Next time any of you see Jonny, I'll demonstrate.

And just as giggles emerge on one end, the use of timeouts have become a parenting technique we are now using on Oscar. We don't do it often, but it seems to work when we do. I learned a lot by watching Super Nanny and feel that consequences have become part of the learning to listen stage of Oscar's development. He's still a fun, sweet, gentle guy, and we have so much fun with him. He now knows how to play "Uno" and "Go Fish" and he loves to beat me. In fact, he's happier when I lose compared to when he wins. I say, "You won!" He replies, "You lost!" And then we shake hands and play again.

Oh my god, we went out partying last night!

Just kidding. Andy was asleep by 9pm and I passed out on the couch by 10pm. But oh how I remember those days of going out on a Tuesday night. We did, actually, rally big time on Saturday night for a friends birthday party in SF. We scored a last-minute baby sitter who agreed to hang at our house and take care of the babies while we got some adult hang time. Even though we were tired and it was a short jaunt out in to the world, it was invigorating to know we could still do it.

As for the boys, things are real good. Jonny is slowly but surely leaving the pain in the ass crying newborn stage while Oscar is slowly but surely entering the pain in the ass toddler stage. We expected Oscar to regress in his laid back attitude. I remember a time not too long ago when Oscar's answer to anything we asked him was "Sure!" Now, I think his answer to all our requests is "No!" This was to be expected, I guess. On the good news front, Jonny has started to giggle. He smiles and coos and cries less. So I guess the balancing of it all is on par with what we can expect. Will they ever both be delightful at the same time?

Why don't you post more?

Good question. I guess I could pull out the lame excuse like, "um, just taking care of two babies all day every day for the the next 18 years (at least)." But the truth is, I'm just tired. Work has been super busy (and exciting) and I sometimes feel that saps a lot of my late night energy. I come home from work, bust my arse until 9pm and then at that point I do one of two things. I either go to bed or veg out in front of the tv. Its pathetic, but it's a darn good way to tune out the real world.

Jonny is a sweet little guy who just happens to looooooove to scream all day. Ya know, maybe he'll be an auction barker. Or, who knows, maybe he's the Tiger Woods of horror flick victims. What I can tell you is that when he is not eating, pooping, or sleeping, he is crying. Poor little guy has some serious digestion issues that go away with a few good burps. But man, oh man, the crying can be a bit much. I know it will stop one of these days and the legend of his wailing will be exaggerated for the years to come.

7 weeks old

So I haven't posted in a while. To all my loyal followers, I apologize. Who knew finding time to write 200-400 word posts twice week would prove difficult. (I bet those with two kids knew)

As for life, it is good. We aren't out of the woods yet as Jonny continues to cry regularly after boobing. He is sleeping for an extended stretch at the beginning of the night. The problem is the 1am to 7am stretch. Let's just say, he is still a creature of the night. All in all, he seems to be warming up to me though. If I speak in a really high baby cute voice, he will smile for me. It is precious. (Him smiling is precious not me speaking like a raving lunatic)

Oscar is loving his brother and is very gentle with him. he wants to play with him all the time but, of course, Jonny isn't quite ready yet. Some day those two will be off in their own little world doing things that brothers do. (Gets me excited and a bit nervous)

In other news, our dishwasher was fixed!! Fuck yeah!!

Jonny: "I think tonight, I'll have some Boob ala Boob."

So its been a while since my last post. I know what your thinking. "Hey! Yo! Get yer ass to the computer and tell me what's up!" Well, those with two ankle biters already know what I'm about to say, but for the most part, I kinda feel buried. But in a good way. Like, someone burying you at the beach. Its dirty, and messy and you can always breath, but it feels heavy and slightly claustrophobic.

Truth is, I am totally in love with the family right now. Head over heels. Despite not sleeping much and constantly find myself doing a shit ton of "dishes and laundry and laundry and dishes and dishes and laundry". (That's a song Andy and I made up when Oscar was born. We sing it more now - ask us and we'll break it out for ya.) And I'm cooking more than I ever have. Despite or because of it, I'm loving the moment of it. We are in it. Buried. But we are figuring it out and doing it, the best way we can right now.

I'm still working hard to get that real non-gas smile from JR. I've gotten a few that were induced by my finger twitching at his chin. One time, he smiled and he looked like his cousin Reggie. I was rough housing with Oscar the other night while the little little guy was having his mid-evening snack of Boob Ala Boob and Andy said to me, "Easy. You're gonna hurt him. Jeez." I then informed her that its only gonna get rowdier. When the newborn gets big and it's two on one, it's finally gonna be a fair fight.

I'm going to bed. The family is sleeping and I should be too. Keep ya posted...

Wanna hook us up?

Our meal train is whizzing by with lots of open spaces. We'd love to have y'all make a date to meet the little man. And if bringing food isn't your thing, that's cool - just take a page from Sacco's book and bring a bottle of wine and two cases of It's-Its instead!

Back to work

So I went to work for a few days right after Jonathan was born because we had so many hands helping out. And I took all of last week off so Andy and I could get settled and comfortable as a family of four. Monday (today) rolled around and it was back to the daily grind. I drove Oscar to school and then went to work right after - the only difference is Andy is home alone with a newborn.

Our house is kind of a disaster right now. Clothes pile up and dishes remain dirty. Our main goal is to keep Oscar and Jonathan fed and happy. The rest will be dealt with later and eventually we'll get our flow back. All this scrambling reminds me of the amazing angels we had helping out the first week. You've already heard about Erica and Mindy, but I would be foolish to not mention the amazing and incredible hard work put forth by my mom. I've never seen anyone work so continuously. Whether it was playing with Oscar, helping us find something in our crazy garage or just holding the baby, my mom knocked it out of the park. And I guess not having her here makes me appreciate all that she was doing to keep us moving forward.

I know we'll figure it out, but it helps to have a parent around continuing to be there as a support and your biggest fan. Oh and thanks, Dad, for playing with Oscar. It was a tough first week made easier by you giving him your undivided attention. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, I'm incredibly lucky that your both mine and I am grateful to have you as role models for Andy and me.

A smile

I swear I saw one today. I was holding him, head slumped on my hand mid burp. He stopped. Looked up and Andy giggled. Jon smiled. His cheeks looked different and I saw him - for the first time. It was pretty cool.

Helps to have a professional

Thanks to Andy's sister Melinda, Jonathan will not suffer from the "no one takes pictures of the second child" stigma. Melinda (a professional photographer and videographer and one badass sister) was here for almost a week, helping anywhere help was needed. When she wasn't cooking us dinner, folding our laundry, or vacuuming the entire house, she was snapping pics and shooting videos of our family. I am grateful to have these memories saved and backed up for eternity. I think I asked my parents why they didn't have any pictures of me as a baby and I got the usual response: "We had two kids under 3 years old., the last thing we thought about was where the damn polaroid was."

*Note: Click on the picture If you want to watch the slideshow in a bigger window.

One week old

7 days. Jonathan's been around for 7 days. It almost feels like I can't imagine life without him. Those with two kids told me this would happen, but I didn't expect it so quickly. I took my first co-nap with the little guy yesterday. He fell asleep in my arms and then I passed out. After about 5 minutes, I repositioned myself on the couch and he laid on my chest, arms and fists curled up underneath his little head. He slept there for almost 2 hours. What a feeling.

We had Jonathan's B'rit Milah today with our immediate family and friends in attendance. It was a super mellow, sweet affair. He made it through like a champ. I'm not the most religious person in the world, but for whatever reason, this ceremony, this tradition, resonates with me. It is the oldest rite of passage for the Jewish people and it meant a lot to me to follow in my ancestor's footprints. I felt it was my responsibility to "make him Jewish" through circumcision and then, from there, he can do with it what he wants. I want Jonathan to know he is Jewish but that he has the freedom to follow his own path. If he chooses Judaism, then I'm cool with that. If he chooses something else, then so be it. Anyway you slice it (too easy), this has been one of the best weeks of my life.

Some pics of Jonathan

Andy's sister, Melinda, is in town helping out and has snapped some awesome photos of our first week as a foursome. If you like one, you can download it or purchase it straight from the Nikon application.

(Note: They are very big files so it may take some time to download on an older computer - but it makes for great printing)

View the short slideshow!

Do it for Jonny!

It's funny, whenever I say Jonny's name, I think of Matt Dillon's character Dallas in the movie, The Outsiders and his iconic line, "Let's do it for Jonny, man! Let's do it for Jonny!"

So when I am up in the middle of the night, with little sleep, bleery eyed, I think to that amazing movie and I say in my head, "Let's do it for Jonny, man." It makes me smile and helps me forget the fact that I've slept a total of 12 hours in the last five days. And Andy has probably slept about 8 hours in that same time span - Woof! I think we forgot about this part.

Life has been great otherwise. Jonny is eating like a madman. Andy's boobs are nice and plump and yet they are off limits to me. Oh, the irony. I was watching Andy with Jonny the other day while she was breastfeeding and she looked up and saw me. Her eyes were teary, she had a sweet smile that I've seen so many times before with Oscar, and she whispered to me, "I'm in love." I whispered back, "Me too."

Enjoy some pictures below of Mommy and Jonny.

And then there were four....

We made it. Phew! There is so much to tell and I don't have a lot of energy right now to write up the whole affair, but I'll try my best to give you a snapshot.

Andy's labor started with three deep breaths at 10pm. As the third one ended, Andy had a deep back pain that was our firs indication something was different than the previous week of contractions. We called our doula Michelle and she heard Andy moaning and said with a smile I could see over the phone, "Your about to have a baby, Eric! I'll be right over."

When Michelle arrived she realized instantly that it was time to go to the hospital. There wasn't really any laboring that needed to be done at home, evident by the rapid contractions. When we arrived at the hospital, Andy moaned her way up to the Labor & Delivery floor. One of my favorite moments of the night was when we were waiting for the elevator, there was a young guy sipping on a slurping also waiting. As a contraction came on, Andy let out a wail. Just then, the elevator arrived and we got on. The guy looked at us with a scared smirk and said, "Y'all go ahead. I'll take the next one."

Once we were in the hospital, everything began to happen quickly. They checked Andy quickly and she was already at 8cm dilated. We moved in to our birthing room and after an hour of severe contractions (no drugs at all), Andy was ready to push the little guy out. The doctor strolled in around 1:30am and when she entered the room, Andy was on all fours in thick of a contraction. The doctor looked at Andy and then turned to the nurse and said, "I'm gonna go get some coffee." Needless to say, the mood int he room was calm. The nurses were relaxed. Michelle was relaxed and smiling. There was no panic anywhere. It was truly amazing to see that this is what Andy's body was made to do. Despite the compounding pressure and pain she was feeling, this was all how it was supposed to go.

Around 2:30am, the doctor took her jacket off, put on the scrubs and got up in there and made space for Jonathan to come out. Right before he was born, she said with pure excitement, "Dad, come here and look at this. You have to!" I had been reluctant because, well, I didn't want to pass out. But I gave it a shot and peeked around the corner of Andy's leg. I saw the curly black hair on his head and then just as we were counting to 10, I saw an eye. Then a cheek. Then an ear. And before we all knew it, at 2:38am, the rest of Jonathan's body slid out.

I saw his balls and penis and I announced to Andy and the room that it was a boy and we all laughed and cried and smiled and kissed. It was bliss. I kind of lost it (in a good way) and we just looked at him and kissed him. He gave out a little cry and then latched on to Andy's boob instantly.

Some funny moments:

• On the car ride to the hospital, Andy was in the back seat going through contractions while I was navigating the bumps on Ashby Ave. Andy, in between contractions, coherently said, "I fuckin hate Ashby Ave."
  
  
• About 10 minutes after Jonathan was born, Andy turned to the nurse and said, "Um, could I have some vicodin now please?"
  
  
• Jonathan was a big boy when he came out and everyone in the room was trying to guess his weight. We didn't weigh him right away because he was resting on Andy's chest for a good half hour. Not sure who was closest, but it was fun to play the guessing game.
  
  
• The doctor held up the placenta for us to look at and she described it all, turning it inside out and every which way so we could see where Jonathan grew. It was both disgusting and magical. The tree of life.

There are so many more things, I could write and I hope to in the future. But for now, Andy and I are working on very little sleep over the last three days, and we need to rest when the baby is sleeping.

As always, stay tuned to the blog and we will keep you posted on new developments. For now, here's a video of Oscar meeting his little bro.




P.S. Oscar pool results will be posted soon. I haven't tallied the scores yet, but I imagine I won either way. :)

It's a ...............

Boy!!!!!!!!

Any second. 10cm. At 0

It's coming

Not even close, bud!

Labor is close - I can feel it. But as of today, there is nothing. Last night, Andy slept great. This morning, she seems mellow and ready. Andy is going to Prenatal yoga and Oscar and I are gonna brave the cold weather and run around at a park.

Also, thanks Rachel for snapping some pics of Oscar at school. Enjoy the one to the right.

As always, keep ya posted...

P.S. Sign up for my Oscar pool, dammit! So far its just Annie Mac, Stef and me. It'll take 5 minutes. I promise :)

Join My Oscar Pool!!

Hi all. So I know this is last minute and I know that Andy and I are having a baby, like, now, but I love the Oscars and I love contests that don't include money. Naturally, it fell to me to create this Oscar pool.

If you are interested, go to this online pool I set up and choose your winners. After making your picks, you will have to include an email address at the bottom. This site has a pretty awesome privacy policy. Basically, they say they delete emails the day after the Oscars are over. No marketing - nothing. As always, proceed with caution.

Once you make your picks, an email will be sent to me and I will tally all the results and post the winner on the blog Sunday evening. You can also send yourself an email with your picks so you can check my work and follow along.

Good luck fighting it out for second!

What to expect when your expecting

Another sleepless night for Andy, the wonder mom. It felt real last night. With the crazy storm blowing through the Bay Area, we thought for sure the winds were changing - the baby is coming. But there was very little regularity to the contractions. There was, however, a new development as Andy started to feel some back pains with her contractions, not just tightening in the front. According to our amazing doula Michelle, back pain during contractions can be a sign that active labor is on the doorstep.

So I decided to head back in to work for the morning while Andy is hanging out at home with my mom. Michelle is coming over later this morning to give Andy some lovin' and so she can get a sense of the severity of the contractions.

I have to say, having a doula has completely changed the labor/birth experience. We felt like we were deer in the headlights when Oscar was born and in hindsight, it would have been nice to know the stuff we know the first time around. It is incredibly comforting for me to know we have this amazingly experienced person answering every question we have. And it is even more refreshing to know that she is our advocate. She is our resource. She is our friend and she loves us dearly.

Thanks for reading and we will keep ya posted...

There's an App for that

So when we thought the baby was coming the other night, I was trying to manually keep track of Andy's contractions so I could determine a definite pattern. And then I thought to myself. I bet there's an App for that.

After about 30 seconds of research I found an amazing free App for my IPhone that charts contractions by their duration as well as the time between contractions. It is awesome! I can't wait to put it to use when its really time.

As far as Andy and baby's arrival, no news to report. Andy slept well last night and is going to see True Grit today with my dad. If anything can get a baby to come in to this world, it will most definitely be a Coen brothers movie.

Speaking of movies, I'm thinking of putting together an online pool for the Oscars this Sunday. No money involved, just bragging rights. Anyone interested?

Mommy and Me time

So Andy had a rough sleep last night, waking up with every contraction. (I slept through it all) The contractions are nowhere near the intensity of active labor, as they are pretty short in duration and spaced apart randomly. Sometimes they are 14 minutes apart. Sometimes they are 40 minutes apart. Sometimes they last 10 seconds. Sometimes the last 30 seconds. Either way, there is no going back from here - Woo hoo!

Andy is a freakin' superstar with all of this waiting and uncertainty. Of course she wants the baby out as soon as possible, but she seems relaxed and ready and she is opening, slowly but surely. I am in awe of her - of all women actually. Truly amazing to witness and also be a part of.

I going to get as much work as possible done from home today while Andy and I are also stealing some nice alone time before the baby's arrival. Andy's sister, Erica, has come and gone - It was a fun, short visit and she was a big help with Oscar and cooking dinner and keeping Andy from doing dishes and laundry. My parents are arriving today for Stef's birthday and Andy's other sister, Mindy, arrives Sunday to help out and be witness to life with a newborn.

We are gonna go for a slow stroll down our street as it is a beautiful day here in the Bay Area. Keep ya posted, but for now, enjoy a video of Andy dancing this past weekend.

Don't look at me with that efface!

Andy had a doctors appointment today and after examination, the doctor told Andy she was already 3-4 cm dilated and starting to efface.

"Um. what?" I said nervously when Andy called me and told me what the baby doc said. So despite not having any real patterns of labor contractions, Andy is on her way!

I came home from work early to be with her as it seems I am more nervous and stressed than Andy, although I am trying my best to remain calm throughout. The baby doc told Andy that she expects to hear from us in the next day or two that it is time. If I knew posting a Tom Petty video would induce labor, I would have done it long ago. :)

And the beat goes on

I took Oscar to school this morning. I am at work. Andy is home resting. It's almost like we are back to business without anything to look forward to.

Sunday was a bit of a letdown. It's good that her water didn't break because its now obvious that the baby wants to stay in there for a bit longer. But for those few hours when we were sure it was time to have a baby, we had entered the "new baby is on its way out" stage and to be told that it was nothing was hard to come down from.

I'm sure once the baby comes, we will forget about all this waiting. For now, please enjoy the video below from Tom Petty and The Heartbreaks called "The waiting is the hardest part"

President's Day

Well, after an eventful Sunday, it seems the baby is not fully cooked. We went to the hospital to get checked out yesterday evening to make sure that Andy's water did, in fact, break. And much to our surprise, it did not! So they sent us home and said, "see ya soon!"

Andy felt a lot of movement last night, but no patterns (ie. labor contractions). So I am at work now to get some stuff done while Andy, Ricky and Oscar are playing together.

FYI, today is the actual due date they gave us. Very exciting times for all of us!

Water has not broken

Water has not broken. I repeat, water has not broken. Apparently Andy just had to pee real bad. :)

Cats Stevens new single "Water has Broken"

We just went swimming at the Richmond Plunge (new community pool in Point Richmond that rocks, by the way) and had an amazingly fun time. Oscar and I got ready in the boys room while Andy got ready on her own. When Andy came out, she informed us she had a gush of water while peeing. She doesn't feel any contractions but we definitely think this is it. We are about to call our doctor and let her know what's up. As always, we'll keep ya posted...

Nothing new ... sorry folks

Hey hey. It's a rainy Saturday afternoon and nothing new to report on the baby front. Oscar and I went out for a little dance party this morning to see The Bubble Lady while Andy and Aunt Ricky went to yoga. The little contractions Andy was feeling the last two days have died down. Seems the little bambino(a) is staying put.

After yoga, Andy and Aunt Ricky went shopping at Berkeley Bowl and picked up a ton of yummy yums for dinner. Aunt Ricky is an amazing chef and we are looking forward to see what she whips up tonight.

So, as of 3:47pm on Saturday, we re chilling in Richmond. I am about to make a fire and get ready for the NBA slam dunk contest. My money is on Blake Griffin.

I'm Done

"I'm done," Andy said.

Unfortunately for mom, the baby seems pretty happy in the belly. Keep ya posted...

Are you coming out today?

This is my first contribution to the blog.. So far Eric has been the only one writing, but encouraging me to write every day. Today I have been having some contractions, not very regular yet. So who knows? My sister Erica is coming in this afternoon and hoping the baby arrives before she leaves on Tuesday! So we have started helping the baby along with some natural labor inducers- black licorice, primrose oil, walking/dancing, stretching/yoga, bumpy roads, and other methods....For dinner we might have eggplant parmesan with oregano, and pinapple for dessert. (all of which are possible triggers for labor).

We are ready and waiting for this little one to arrive!

We'll keep you posted if anything changes...
:)andy

Who are you?

Andy got an awesome night sleep and seems energized for the day. No cramping, no contractions, no signs, just a big belly with a little baby inside. Who are you, little baby?!?

In other news, Andy's sister, Erica, is coming from New Mexico this afternoon to help out for a few days. She's gonna love touching the belly and watching Andy rock the baby boulder.

New developments

Andy had trouble sleeping last night while things started to move around. She asked me to stay with her today in case this is actual labor. So we've been hanging out together, just the two of us, talking, snuggling, playing cards. (I let her win)

Then Andy wanted to float in water. So, because our hot tub is perpetually broken, I called my cousin and asked if we could come and soak in his tubby. After a cryptic lesson on how to find his hidden key, we were in! It was an amazing tub. It's a super rainy day here in the bay and we just mellowed in the tub while the rain came pouring down on us. I held the belly in my lap as Andy floated. I think it really helped take some pressure off her little back.

We'll keep ya posted....

No news

Andy had her weekly check up with the doctor today and all is well. Tons of fluid, baby positioned correctly, mom is uncomfortable - just your typical 39.5 week report.

Andy is moving around less and less, which is a good thing if you ask me. It is my hope that these last few days of waiting are filled with some serious chilling. She worked so hard for the last five months, she deserves to do nothing but watch Oprah and eat ice cream.

It is taking all my power to stop her from doing the dishes and folding laundry. She's one tough cookie and I love her madly.

Ready as we'll ever be

The baby room is cleaned and set up. The onesies are folded. We just got our new infant car seat and stroller delivered and installed. What am I forgetting???

Valentine's Day

No baby yet. No labor pains. Today is Monday and Andy is home chilling, getting the house in order while Oscar and I are at school and work, respectively.

A fun fact: Oscar was born on my grandmother's birthday (May 28th) and if baby #2 comes Wednesday, it will be born on my other grandmother's birthday (Feb. 16th). Synergy, baby, synergy.

Easy like Sunday morn

No news as of Sunday morning. We've been laying in bed, just the three of us, giggling, talking. Oscar jumped on Andy's belly by accident and I had a vision of the baby shooting out of the exit hole and smacking up against our ketubah. Talk about quick labor.

As I reflect on the change that is coming, I thought I'd share a video from the moment we found out we were pregnant. Andy woke up that late June morning in a panic. It was 6am and she rolled over in bed and said, "I'll be right back." I asked where she was going. "Walgreens. I'll be right back." She sounded nervous, which in turn made me a little uneasy.

I had no idea what was going on until she returned from the drug store and I looked in her white plastic bags. She came home with three early pregnancy test.

"You think your pregnant?"

Woooaaahhh....

What a gal!

Andy let me sleep late this morning. What a gal! There are no signs that this is the day so it looks like just another mellow Saturday with my favorite people in the world.

I think there is something in there

The weekend

It's Friday night and we're home for the weekend to relax from a very long week. Andy finished school and is now on maternity leave. We celebrated with a nice bottle of wine, some pizza and a family slow dance to The Beatles "Julia" in our kitchen. It was a really nice moment, just the three of us.

It's been weighing on me to know that it's not just gonna be sweet, little Oscar. I've got to split my energy and that bums me out, at times. I give so much to him, without complaint. I love it. And to think I have to take away from that, makes me kind of melancholy.

And let's not forget the fact that loving and adoring a child is tiring. I am having a hard time imagining what two kids will feel like. I had a moment earlier tonight trying to envision a crying baby while Oscar is doing his rambling rant of random thoughts during dinner. The whole scenario made me a little queasy, I'm not gonna lie.

Andy just got out of the tub. Just a few 40 week twinges reported, so nothing major as of Friday at 9:10pm.

Baby on the way

We are expecting our second baby any day now. It's kind of hard to write that even though the inevitable is right around the corner. The first due date we were given was Feb. 16. Later on, we were told it would be Feb. 20. So, basically, it was all about Feb. 1. Once we hit February, in my mind, it was go time.

Andrea just finished work so now its just a waiting game. She is big and uncomfortable and ready to get her body back. Although, I think she looks amazing.

Follow this blog for updates on labor and all things baby as the days progress....