Smoky Mountains

We've been going a little crazy sticking close to the house since we got home from the hospital, so Brian and I decided to take a trip to the Smokies today with the boys. It has been super hot here so we've been stuck inside most of each day (close to 100F today), but luckily it was much cooler at the higher elevation and shade (closer to mid-80s).

I was a little nervous about the 1.5 hour drive each way but the boys did awesome. Rylan was a little fussy on the way home, but it was nothing we couldn't tune out. He did a good job calming himself down after a few minutes of screaming each time.

We drove in through Townsend and headed up to the Chimneys picnic area. We got there around 11:15 am before it got crowded. It filled up quickly but is set up well so that it wasn't annoying with the traffic through the area.

Rylan chilled out in his carseat while I got lunch set up and Brian and Carter played ...


Carter found sticks right away!


Lunch was good except for when Carter fell off the bench of the picnic table. He fell straight back onto his back and got a little cut on his scalp. There was some blood, but Carter got over it after just a couple of minutes. He's a tough one!

Rylan and me ...


Carter had so much fun exploring!


Me and my two boys!


I love this picture!


Carter had fun playing in this little stream that runs into the river that borders the picnic area. The water was freezing and Carter ended up falling on his butt once and getting his shorts soaked. He never seemed to notice though.


I really, really love this picture!


Carter got really good at climbing around the rocks. Brian had to help him out in some areas though.



Checking out the river ...


I put Rylan in the Baby Bjorn while we explored the river with Carter ...


We spent about 2 hours in the picnic area eating and exploring. We had so much fun!

On the way out of the park, there was a wreck on Newfound Gap Road (the only road that cuts through the center of the park and connects the NC and TN sides). The road was completely blocked and we didn't move at all for about an hour. Luckily the boys were AMAZING! Rylan was awake the whole time but didn't fuss much. Carter stayed in his carseat and we read books and played with his toys that were in the car. Right before the road opened up, Rylan decided he'd had enough so we got both boys out of the car only to have to put them back into their carseats after a couple of minutes. At least we started moving again!

We stopped by the Sugarlands visitor's center and got Rylan his own National Parks Passport like the one we have for Carter.


Rylan got his first stamp at 9 days old!


I'm so glad that we were brave enough to take the boys on this short road trip today. We had so much fun and it was GREAT to get out of the house!

Rylan's First Doctor's Appointment

Rylan went to the pediatrician the day after we got discharged from the hospital for his first checkup (he did get seen by a pediatrician every day we were in the hospital too). Our normal doctor was out of the office that day so we say another doctor in the practice. We really liked her so we were okay with seeing someone different this time.

Rylan's weight took the normal dip while we were at the hospital. He was born weighing 9 lbs. On Tuesday morning he was down to 8 lbs, 11 oz and on Wednesday morning down to 8 lbs, 5 oz. Rylan was approaching the 10% loss that seems to be the cutoff for acceptable weight loss so they weighed him again in the afternoon. He had dropped to 8 lbs, 3 oz so we had to start supplementing with formula. My milk took a little longer to come in this time, most likely because of the c-section. We fed Rylan up to an ounce of formula after I nursed him. Hungry boy gobbled up that formula! By Thursday morning, Rylan was up to 8 lbs, 7 oz so were able to stop the supplementing.

At the pediatrician's office on Friday, Rylan weighed 8 lbs, 6.5 oz. So he was holding steady without any more supplementing. Rylan also "shrank" just like Carter and measured only 20 5/8" long (instead of 21.5"). We were told they measure to the toes at the hospital instead of the heal.

So here are Rylan's percentiles as a newborn:

• Weight: 8 lbs, 6.5 oz (62nd percentile)
• Length: 20 5/8 inches (72nd percentile)
• Head Circumference: 36 cm (47th percentile)

Rylan also had slightly elevated bilirubin levels in the hospital. I think it got as high as 9.1 (which is low enough not to require any treatment). The pediatrician thought his coloring looked good at his appointment so we didn't have to worry about it.

Everything else during the exam was normal and Rylan will be going back for his next checkup when he is 3 weeks old.

Watermelon

Carter had watermelon for the first time this weekend (I think we tried to give him some last year but he wasn't interested).

Carter and Rylan

Our boys ...


Carter is doing really well adjusting to having Rylan around. He's doing much better than we had expected. However, I haven't had the two of them on my own yet. Things may change then because right now there is always someone to give him attention.

Carter likes to point to Rylan and say "baby". He knows who we're talking about whenever we say either Rylan or baby.

So far Carter has been gentle with Rylan. It took him a day to warm up to Rylan, but Carter likes to rub Rylan's hair the most. He's also started patting his tummy and touching his toes. We've been trying to teach Carter to not touch Rylan's face or hands though (to help make sure he doesn't pass on any germs).

Carter gets a little jealous when Brian is holding Rylan. He'll point to Rylan and then point to the bouncer if he sees it indicating he wants Brian to put Rylan down. He hasn't been too bad yet.

When I feed Rylan downstairs with the nursing cover on, Carter likes to put his head under the cover too and look at Rylan and laugh.

Carter has been asking to hold Rylan more. He puts his arms out like we taught him to do to catch a ball. Today he started getting the Boppy pillow and putting it around himself since that's what I do when feeding Rylan. Carter likes to have him on his lap for about a minute and then he's over it.

I think Carter realizes that Rylan is here to stay. And I think he's happy about it.

A Few Videos

Carter meeting Rylan the day he was born ...

Rylan at one day old making noises ...

Rylan yawning ...

Rylan's Birth and Our Hospital Stay

I'm going to do a separate post with Rylan's birth story (hopefully I'll do it quicker than I did Carter's), but here are some pictures and a few details.

My c-section was scheduled for 12:30 pm on Monday and my doctor showed up around 12:45 pm (a little late, but I expected worse). I was prepped in the same room we'd be in for the rest of our stay at the hospital. I walked to the operating room where I got the spinal block while Brian got into a sterile suit and had to wait until they were just about to begin.

I didn't feel too much while they were working on getting to Rylan.


The end hurt a lot as well as all the sewing up. The nurse anesthetist gave me some extra pain medicine a few times through my IV, but it didn't help much. I made it through though.

My doctor showed us Rylan right after she pulled him out (he was purple but doing fine) and then they went to work on him.

Rylan when he was 5 minutes old ...


Rylan at 8 minutes old ...


At 10 minutes old ...


After they finished with Rylan, Brian got to hold him for about 20 minutes while they finished up on me. The nurse anesthetist took this group shot of us ...


Rylan and me recovering when he was 2 hours old ...


Sarah came by for a quick visit when Rylan was 2 1/2 hours old. It was great to see her!


She took another group shot for us ...


My mom stayed with Carter the whole time we were in the hospital. She brought Carter over in the evening to meet Rylan.


Brian and his boys (I'll do a separate post about how Carter is doing with Rylan, but so far, he's been very gentle and somewhat interested in him).



Family photo (we'll have to work on getting a better one soon!) ...


Rylan and me on Tuesday (our second day in the hospital) ...


My dad drove over to Knoxville on Tuesday to meet Rylan ...


He also got to spend some time with Carter. Carter LOVES this new water toy my dad got him. You fill it with water and toss it to someone. If they don't catch it just right, they get covered with water (there was no water in the toy when this picture was taken!).


Some sweet photos of Rylan ...


Finally, a picture with his eyes open!




Brian with Rylan as we were getting ready to head home ...


All ready to go!

Jumping

Carter started doing this yesterday and did it again today ...

I would think this would hurt his butt but it doesn't seem to!

Introducting Rylan David

Rylan was born on Monday, June 28th at 1:18 pm. He weighed 9 lbs and was 21.5 inches long.









We have been home since yesterday afternoon and I plan to try to catch up on posting this weekend. My priority the last couple of days has been trying to spend as much time as I can with my buddy Carter to make up for being absent this week.