Sleepless in Salford

Rowan hit the four-week mark today! For me, it feels like a lot longer than four weeks. Not in a bad way...it just feels like so much has happened in that short time. Our lives have changed quite a bit.

We are learning more about Rowan's personality. For one thing, it turns out that he is not such a great sleeper. In fact, he's rather grumpy about his sleep. If he doesn't get to sleep when he wants to, he quickly gets overtired and miserable. So we have to be hyper vigilant to catch that 5-10 minute window of tiredness before he goes into meltdown mode and it becomes very difficult to calm him down.

Even worse, if he gets woken up from a nap too soon––perhaps say if a sibling's shriek rises up through the floor boards and rattles him from his slumber––then we're really in trouble. It's almost impossible to get him back to sleep and the next nap is also in jeopardy. 

When he does fall into a deep sleep, though, it's wonderful. He'll sleep for two hours straight. He loves his naps! And he's the first newborn we've had that actually sleeps in his bed!

Nights could be better. Rowan still wakes up every two hours. It has not been easy to get up that much and then function well during the day. Thankfully, our family and friends have been so generous with bringing us meals these last four weeks. That has saved me quite a bit of work!

Silas and Allie are doing well. You can see some of their adventures below.

Allie playing outside on a beautiful fall day.

Example of Rowan taking a great nap.
Although this one was not in his bed...
an exception to the norm.

Watching a video together...
something they do way too often these days.

Allie was enjoying playing in a leaf pile in the backyard.

Ta da!

The first time Rowan tried out the sling.

Silas contemplating a cat food mess that he had made.

The boys hanging out.

Daddy entertaining the kids.

Time to feed the baby! Like mother, like daughter.  

Rowan: Two Weeks Old

Yesterday marked two weeks since Rowan was born, and we celebrated with a weigh-in...The little man gained almost a pound over his birth weight! That was great news for us. No surprise really, because he eats like a champ.

Nate took Rowan out for his first outing this morning, unbeknownst to me who was asleep upstairs, trying to catch up on lost overnight sleep. Silas, Allie and Rowan all accompanied Nate to our local Landis supermarket for some grocery shopping. Of course, when I woke up I was at first upset, and then jealous, because I wanted to go out too! Rowan had never been in the car before today, and I hadn't been out of the house since Oct. 16th. Not that I'm counting.

So we went out as a family around mid-day to visit Nana and Nick. It was the perfect family outing, and we all relaxed and enjoyed a nice visit there. Nana and Nick served barbeque, and we marveled at the gorgeous November weather––sunny and in the 60s.

So what's been going on for two weeks? Rowan is not sleeping as well as the first golden week, and waking up more frequently at night to eat. Otherwise, he's doing great, and getting more alert as time goes on. His cloudy, dark eyes have cleared and can now focus on the world around him. He gets fussy around 6:00 in the evening, probably because of the noise and commotion in the house since everyone is home at that time. I can't blame him; most days I feel pretty cranky at that time of day, too.

Allie is a nice, calm companion for Rowan during the day. Although, she does get upset when it's time for him to eat. She tells me she's sad because Rowan is "eating that yucky stuff." Of course, I'm nursing him, so he's getting breastmilk. But to Allie, it's the worst thing ever. (Mind you, she nursed for 19 months.) Silas, on the other hand, takes a different approach. He keeps asking if Rowan would like some peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I have to remind him that Rowan doesn't have any teeth, and therefore can't have food yet.

On Halloween Allie and Silas went out trick or treating with Nate, who pushed them in the wagon on our hilly street. He had a helper––our neighbors went with us. But that meant that there were 5 kids in the wagon, not just two. They all had a great time though, and meet some people that they didn't know before. It rained a little, but no one seemed to mind.

Last weekend, Nate's sister Kate visited with Rod and Mikaela. There's a picture of the four kids together, and one of the five of us that Kate took. Tomorrow Jen's brother Matt is going to visit. We love this excuse to see family who don't live nearby! In fact, Jon and Geri are allegedly making their way up the East Coast from Florida in their VW Westy. We can't wait to see them!

Lot's of pictures below...enjoy!

Allie is loving being a big sister!

Silas is an old hat at being a big brother.

"Do you want some peanut butter and jelly?"

The five Paines

Allie, Rowan and Silas with cousin Mikaela

Halloween: Allie was a cupcake and Silas was a dinosaur.

Silas' teacher sent me this photo from his day at school on Halloween.
The kids dressed up in their costumes for a parade and a social.
He's the green one on the right. They were playing bingo,
although Si's pile of candy corns is suspiciously missing...