Fireworks

Brian's parents visited us the weekend of the 4th to meet Rylan. Here are some pictures of them with the little guy ...



We kept Carter up on the 4th to see the fireworks in our neighborhood. There are still quite a few lots that haven't been built on in our section of our neighborhood and so several groups of people set up large firework displays on the street that is blocked off to traffic. And because we're on a little ridge, we can see several other local displays above the trees (we can even see the high fireworks from the downtown show).

Unfortunately, Carter didn't respond as we had expected. We thought he'd love the fireworks. Instead, he got really scared (this kid is usually scared of nothing!). He wanted to be picked up as soon as we were outside and kept pointing back at the front door. He was whining and just acting weird. When I sat on the couch on the porch, Carter got on the couch next to me and buried his head behind me.

We should have done a better job of preparing him for the loud noises. Plus it was way past Carter's bedtime so that probably had something to do with it. Oh well.

Dimples

I took some pictures of Rylan today for his birth announcements and here are a few cute ones that I'm not using.

Rylan showing off his dimples ...


Studying the camera ...


"No more pictures!" ...

Rolling Over

From www.babycenter.com ...

"Your baby may be able to kick himself over, from his tummy to his back, as early as age 2 to 3 months."

Rylan at 12 days old ...

We're in trouble!

My Three Guys

Rylan Observations

Before Rylan changes too much, I wanted to write about some of the things we've noticed about him.

Rylan does not have Brian's eyelashes like Carter does. Carter's were long and full from birth. Rylan just has a few short eyelashes right now. Looks like he's going to take after me on this one.

Rylan has dimples in both of his cheeks. His face is a little chubby right now so I'm not sure if they are going to stay. Rylan doesn't show his dimples off very often, but when he does, they are very cute.

Rylan still doesn't open his eyes all that much. He started off usually opening only his right eye when he wanted to look around a little. He's starting to look around more now, but he doesn't open his eyes up fully very often. Carter opened his eyes up wide from the day he was born. He had an intense stare that made him look like he was taking everything in. Rylan seems to not be as worried about what's going on around him.

Rylan's eyes are a dark blue-gray right now. I know Carter's started off darker than the light blue they are now, but I'm not sure if they were this color or not. Rylan's hair is darker than Carter's was when he was born. However, Rylan's hair color is already changing. It was a medium brown color when he was born and is starting to lighten up. I think the darker hair is falling out and the lighter, fuzzier hair is now more visible. I hope it's falling out because Rylan has a patch of hair on the top of one of his ears that I'm hoping falls out!

Rylan is so hairy still! I know it's supposed to rub off after a few weeks, but he's like a little teddy bear right now. The hair is white so it's not very noticeable, but he's covered in it!

Rylan got his first sponge bath at home on last Friday (July 2nd). He's had a couple more since then. He's been doing a good job of putting up with them without too much fussing.

When we put Rylan on his stomach for some tummy time, he's pushes his feet on the ground scooting forward already (he moves a lot if you put your hand behind his feet). The other night he almost turned over on his own when he got his feet going and started rotating his hips. We might be in trouble if this one figures out turning over and crawling early. It's not too hard with two right now when one stays where you leave him!

Carter is still doing great with Rylan - no injuries so far! Carter loves to give Rylan kisses on the top of his head. He also loves to put his head up to Rylan's as a sort of hug. He started giving Rylan fist bumps yesterday. Carter wants to hold him a lot and be close to him. Carter really does like his brother so far.

I still can't get over how big Carter seems now that we have a newborn around. I've always thought he was tiny (which on the percentile charts, he is small for his age). But now he seems like a giant. His hands and feet seem so big and meaty. Changing his diaper is so different than changing Rylan's - his diapers are huge! I'm starting to get used to Carter's size again, but it was just the weirdest thing for both Brian and me at first.

Rylan Photos - 10 Days Old

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.