Baby Beach

On of the big reasons we picked Kauai of all the Hawaiian islands is because of a beach in Poipu called "Baby Beach." It is naturally sheltered from the large ocean waves by an arch of volcanic rocks and the water is extremely shallow. You should see all the families that go there! I was so excited for Claire to see her first beach because playing in the sand box has always been one of her favorite activities. Grammy made it even more awesome by bringing her special molds to make cupcakes out of sand. What a perfect gift!
Claire also enjoyed floating with a noodle or be pulled on a boogie board in the ocean. She is getting so brave in the water, floating and kicking. Hopefully, she will be a water girl just like her mommy!
What about the Carter man? Well, he spent his time in his car seat or in someone's arms under a large umbrella. No need for that delicate skin to get any sun exposure. The warmth did make for good napping, though.

Hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii didn't quite get off on the right foot. Alaskan Airline's computer system failed and left us stranded in the San Diego airport for 2 1/2 hours. This in turn made us miss our connector to Kauai and added another whole flight to our trip: instead of going San Diego to Maui to Kauai, we went San Diego, Maui, Honolulu, then Kauai. Had it been just Ari and I, I think we would have had more of a sense of humor. However, when traveling with two kids, two years old and under, things get more complicated.
Thankfully we have two of the best kids ever. As you can see, Claire was content to eat her noodles out of a take out container during a layover in Honolulu and the Carter man was happy just relaxing on daddy's lap. The whole day was exasperating to me, but I was certainly thankful that the kids had no expectations and it was just another adventure for them.

San Diego, Part III

On our third and final day in San Diego the weather was a bit chilly and wet so we had to find something indoors to do in the morning. We decided on the Children's Museum. Wow was it disappointing! Clearly in a city with beautiful weather all year long, people don't require fun things to do with their kids inside. While it boasted three floors of fun, the highlights were a giant chalkboard and a bouncy tunnel. Good thing we had more exciting plans for the afternoon/evening.
After lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (which was also a little disappointing, we don't have one in Cinci so I was looking forward to it but they took my pizza off the menu), we headed to see Lynne, Matt, Joseph, and Michael. Lynne is an old friend of mine, we were sorority sisters. It was great to see her sons, Michael I had not yet met. He and Claire are the same age. The kids played great together and we ate homemade pizzas. Yum! It was so good to see our friends, we were sad to leave.

San Diego Part II

Day 2 of San Diego was spent at Sea World. It was a little bit chilly, especially in the penguin encounter, but we muscled through. Do you see Kevin the dolphin? Claire was all talk when she said she wanted to feed him so Ari, Marshan, and I did all the feeding and dolphin petting. We also fed sea lions, saw the sea lion show, visited the penguins, and saw Shamu. Shamu was clearly Claire's favorite. She loved raising her hands in the air to signal him to splash and clapped at all his tricks. We treated her to new jammies with Shamu on them, too! As you can see, the Carter man was enthralled with the day. Something about getting carried around in the Baby Bjorn makes him fall asleep instantly!

San Diego, Part I

Early in my pregnancy with Carter, we planned a family vacation to take place at the end of my 3 month maternity leave. Ever the optimist, I planned for a full-term delivery. Since I obviously was mistaken, the trip then turned into a leave right after I go back trip. Regardless, we were all excited to head out on a long two city tour of San Diego and then Poipu, Kauai. My plan was kind of genius, we would start in California where we could somewhat acclimate to a 3 time zone change, explore a city that I have never seen and is kid-friendly, catch up with some college friends, and best of all spend some quality time with Ari's parents. As you can imagine, I was a bit nervous (okay a wreck) about planning to travel with two kids two and under. I must have read a bizillion articles about it. I thought the first flight would be a breeze since we were flying at bedtime and straight to San Diego. Surprise number 1, our flight was changed unbeknown to us, to a 1 stop flight with a detour in Salt Lake City. Grrr. Regardless, the kids did great, mostly sleeping and we arrived safe and sound in San Diego.
The weather was a bit on the chilly side but sunny on the first day so we headed to the zoo. What an amazing zoo! We were there most of the day and probably missed half of it. I loved seeing the pandas (Claire perseverated on the fact that she saw one poop). There were also a ton of koalas and a two day-old giraffe.
All snuggled in his Baby Bjorn, Carter slept through most of it!

Back to Work

As you can imagine, the transition back to work has not been easy. The dichotomy between days filled with cuddling and feeding and more cuddling versus patient care, research deadlines, and administrative duties is huge. Luckily, my kids' smiles and hugs have healing powers so when I pick them up in the afternoon, the heaviness in my heart and the pain in my brain (it is trying to wake up from its hiatus) quickly is replaced with love.

It is also helpful that CCHMC has award winning daycare filled with the most loving people I have ever met. They truly love our kids there and it is obvious when they send us pictures and emails to let us know what they are up to. Look at Carter on his first buggy ride above. It put him right to sleep! The one below is my favorite, look at that happy guy! It absolutely makes my day when an email shows up in my inbox filled with these smiles.

Hopefully soon balancing my two roles will become a bit easier.

3 Months Already?!

Apparently I blinked and 3 months flew past me! I am extremely sad that my maternity leave has come to an end. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, however, this snuggly guy has me wrapped around his finger and the thought of being separated from him all day long is horrible. Just look how much he has grown! He is now over 10 pounds. For those of you who say, "Ha! I deliver 10 pound babies" please be impressed that he has gained nearly 6 pounds in 12 weeks. I think that is amazing!! Besides loving to eat, our little man enjoys cooing and looking in mirrors. He is already rolling front to back (usually out of anger), swatting at toys, lifting his head and turning it side to side, and smiling a lot (especially when he has just eaten and you tickle his cheek). We are all in love with him!

Growing Like a Weed

Just wanted to post some more pictures of the Carter man. He is certainly growing fast! These pictures are already a couple of weeks old. Our last weigh in from last week was 9 lbs 10 oz!! Do you realize that he is nearly half Claire's size already?! Our big man does love to eat and it shows!! Love those chubby cheeks and the rolls in his thighs. More soon...

Christmas 2010

Despite all the gifts that Claire received for her birthday, there was no shortage of gifts under the tree (of course not all for her)! We had a very blessed Christmas. We were so lucky to celebrate the day with our family of four and also with Grammy, Auntie Kristen, and Uncle Larry.
This Christmas was even more fun than last, because Claire was able to understand the concept of gifts and Santa Claus. She was so thankful for all that she received.
Look at that excitement (and the tutu)!

Christmas Cookies

On Christmas Eve, Grammy, Claire, and I made cookies for Santa. Claire was so excited to make something for Santa, especially because she got to put sprinkles on the cookies! What isn't better with sprinkles? Luckily we made enough so we could all taste the treats.
Cute pose of Grammy and Claire Bear. Oh look! It is baby Carter in the background!!

Claire's birthday

Continuing on my quest to catch up our blog, here are some pics from Claire's second birthday back early in December. Carter came home the day before so we were fortunate enough to celebrate all together. We were fortunate enough to also have extended family and friends in town.
Claire received EVERYTHING on her wish list and then some. She was clearly overjoyed by all the awesome gifts. She also really enjoyed the decorations (especially the balloons) and of course her pink cake.
Look at that face! I think with the homecoming of Carter, all the family in the house, and a whole lot of sugar, our poor girl was overwhelmed.

8 Weeks Old

Sorry there has been such a lag in the blog. I definitely was not prepared for being a mom of two! It is wonderful, but I just can't seem to find a spare moment. Carter has been growing like a weed. Our pediatrician is certainly impressed. He is already almost on the growth chart, not corrected for being 8 weeks early. Claire can't even claim that! He is a really sweet baby but unfortunately has some significant reflux which causes him to spit up often and get a little fussy if he is not upright after eating. We all love him, especially Claire who loves to tickle his tiny toes and touch his head very gently.

Playin' in the Snow!

Trying to catch up on the blogging so I will be brief. Last winter was not very snowing so we did not do a lot of playing in the snow. This year, however, we prepared early and got Claire all of the essentials (coat, boots, snow pants) so she could play outside when the snow finally came. It was a hit for the most part. The mittens are an issue, her hands are so small and they just don't stay on!

Home for the Holidays

Here are pics from the day Carter came home (12/10/10).

Adjusting

Now that I am out of the hospital and Ari's dad has arrived to help us out, since I am still limited on what I can do after the c-section, we are getting into a routine... sort of. Ari and I are finding it much more challenging to have a NICU baby the second time around because Claire certainly needs our time and attention. When she was born, we lived at the NICU, however this time around we are in the NICU while she is at daycare or after she goes to bed. I have to say that being away from Carter so much has been emotionally draining on me.
Despite our best efforts to preserve Claire's routine, she has noticed the change as well. She is very emotional. For instance, last night she cried because she didn't like trying on her new snow boots and then cried for a good five minutes during dinner that she wanted them back on. Certainly, she is displaying some 2 year-old behavior but I think the last weeks events have taken a toll. Regardless, there is still a lot of laughter and playing at our house. In the picture above, she was hamming it up for Opa. After he took every picture, she wanted to see it.
Medically, our guy is doing great. I am sure you can tell he is a bit jaundiced, though nothing serious. He is on a heart monitor, but no pulse ox, and the only tube he has is his NG for eating. They have already started him to eat by mouth. He takes about 30% of his meals by mouth and the rest goes down the tube. He is also allowed to nurse twice a day which I think is good for both of us.
So now it is a waiting game. Carter has to prove that he can eat 100% of his milk by mouth and continue to gain weight. Hopefully, he will be home well before Christmas.

Introducing Carter Griffin Leib

This is just going to be a brief introduction to our son, Carter Griffin Leib, as today is my first day out of the hospital after a semi-emergent cesarean section and I am exhausted. Like his sister, Carter decided that he wanted to be delivered early. The way he entered, the world, however, was completely different than Claire. I had an OB appointment Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving). I got the scary news that I was dilated to 1 cm despite being only 32 2/7 weeks pregnant. They sent me straight over to the perinatology office where I got a dose of steroids to mature the baby's lungs just in case I went into labor. Thanksgiving morning I woke up early and was having some mild contractions, certainly nothing painful. I decided to take it easy and take a quick shower. Well after the shower, my water broke. Here we go again, I thought. Claire was born just an hour and 50 minutes after my water broke so we quickly threw some things together and left Claire with Papa Pope and Grandma Lily and headed to the hospital.
At the hospital, our first nurse and resident did not make a good impression. They asked me why I had come in and when I said it was because my water broke and I was in labor, they asked if I was sure. Well, let's see, I am a doctor and I have been through this before so yes I am sure that I am in labor. They acted surprised when this was confirmed on the monitors and exam. Seriously?! After that, my doc came in and said that we were going to try to stop my labor since I was only 2-3 cm dilated and that would allow us to get another dose of steroids in. He wasn't sure it would work given my history, but thought it was worth a try. As it turns out, they were successful in stopping my labor for 24 hours. What a horrible 24 hours, though. I was NPO (no food) and bored, scared, and intermittently contracting. They had mercy on me late that night and gave me some processed food to eat which I was sooo grateful for. I am not joking, when you have not eaten for 25 hours, anything tastes good!
So the next morning, they stopped the meds that were slowing my labor and guess what, I didn't contract! Ha! So then they gave me pitocin to start the contractions. I hadn't slept at all so I was pretty irritable. Unfortunately, the baby did NOT like the pitocin and started having late decelerations in his heart rate when I would contract. Despite not wanting an epidural, my OB talked me into getting the catheter put in just in case a c-section became necessary. So the catheter was put in without medicine and the baby continued to not be happy with the contractions and I was only 5 cm dilated. Within 30 minutes of all this becoming clear, I was in the OR getting a semi-emergent cesarean section. Let me tell you, it is so strange to be awake while you are being cut open. Thankfully, they were able to get the baby (a boy!) out, he was stuck face up in the canal, and that little rock star had apgars of 9 and 9.

So much for brevity! More on our little man soon.

EnterTrainment Junction

This and the next few entries will be out of order. Prior to Carter's arrival, we found a place called Entertrainment Junction while searching for new and exciting places to have outings with Claire. This was perfect since she is really into trains. The place has an enormous model train set up which goes through multiple rooms and many scenes. There are buttons for the kids to push to interact with the train set. There is also a large scale train for the kids to play on, they can shovel coal and everything. If that wasn't enough, there is also a huge jungle gym and a smaller area with trains for toddlers.
Needless to say, Claire was in train heaven. She loved every section. We will have to go back soon!

Better Cooked!

So I have now officially cooked baby number 2 longer than I cooked Claire. Yeah!! I am 31 3/7 weeks pregnant and everything so far is going well. I get checked by the doctor weekly and so far nothing is changing. The baby is low and my doctor predicts that once I start contracting, there will be no stopping things. I am prepared for that because that is how Claire came into the world. For now Ari and I are thankful for every day that I remain pregnant because we are one less day in the NICU if the baby comes early.

Chicago: Part 3

The final leg of our trip was a visit to our friends Dan and Amber in Evanston. We definitely wanted to make sure that we got to meet their new daughter Adeline. We arrived around lunch time and the boys graciously braved the cold to get us lunch. We enjoyed a couple of hours of catching up and then it was time for everyone to don their Halloween costumes (except me, the Grinch of Halloween). It was a bit chilly, but Adeline was snug as a bug in her pea pod costume. This was the first time that Claire officially trick or treated. She was initially confused by walking up to strangers' homes, but once she realized that she would get candy at each stop her enthusiasm soared.
Above you can see she got quite a few treats. Her favorite by far, however, was her pink lollipop. She was really more interested in holding it rather than eating it! Too soon, it was dark and it is was time for our family to head home to Cincinnati. Claire did great in the car again and soon we were all tucked in our own beds. A big thank you, again, to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to see, entertain, and/or feed us!! We love you all!