The rest of the day went well after Connor was born.  Connor was cooperative with all the tests and medications he had to receive, he learned how to eat well, and slept great in between everything.  I was doing fine too, probably because the labor was short and therefore less taxing on my body.  We both were told that we could go home the next day which made us excited since that would mean we wouldn’t have to be away from Logan too long.

     Speaking of Logan, we were very proud of how well he behaved with the Hashiguchi’s.  We were told that after we dropped him off at their house, he stayed in their crib calmly for a little bit and then fell asleep until 9am the next day.  He ate breakfast with everyone, went to a birthday party at their aunt’s house, had lunch and took his nap.  DeeDee said that Logan did ask for us occasionally, but he did not throw any tantrums or give them any difficulties the whole day.  Stuart and I were so appreciative of the Hashiguchi’s help; it was great to know that Logan was in good hands.

     In the late afternoon, DeeDee brought Logan to the hospital to see us and to meet his little brother.  Logan was excited when he saw us, but after noticing Connor in my arms, he refused to come near me and asked me to put Connor down to pick him up  instead.  After I picked Logan up and played with him for a little bit, he then warmed up just a little bit to Connor.

     Everyone finally left Connor and me (Stuart took Logan home).  I was feeling a bit lonely initially, but after being able to talk to Stuart over the phone, I felt better.  The rest of the evening was uneventful.  Connor was not too demanding.  I fed him, we watched some TV, rested together sometimes, and he also passed his hearing test when it was done at midnight.

     Stuart returned to stay with us the next morning after taking Logan to daycare.  We hung out at the hospital for a few more hours for blood work and follow up doctor visits.  Everything checked out well including Connor’s bilirubin test (at 6), we were discharged home as planned at 2:30pm.

P.S. We had encountered a big mistake on Connor’s stats.  Right when he was born, we both heard from the nurse that Connor was seven and a half pounds.  We both scanned at the scale briefly and saw 7lbs and 8oz.  The next day I was told by the nurse that he lost 2 oz, but I was not told his current weight at the time.  Not until when we returned home, reviewed his medical records and studying the initial pictures, we discovered that Connor’s birth weight was actually 7lbs 0.8 oz.  No wonder we both thought that he looked and felt much smaller than Logan was.  We have just fixed our online announcement.

    It started around 11pm on 7/24 when I felt some cramps; we were watching TV at the time.  I was not sure what it was that I was feeling, so I tried to ignore them.  Once we had gone to bed the cramps became more consistent and I finally told Stuart about them.  It was still 12 days before the actual due date and I was tired after a fun BBQ at the Kaos, so I was in denial and just wanted to go to sleep.  But the contractions at this point had become stronger, I finally agreed with Stuart to time them.  They were 5 minutes apart already so I then called the Advice Nurse.  After the nurse learned about the current situation and how the labor with Logan was relatively short, she suggested we go to hospital as soon as we could. 

    We made a phone call to the Hashiguichi’s and changed our clothes quickly.  Stuart woke up Logan whom did not complain at all.  We drove to The Hashiguchi’s house, and Scott and DeeDee came out right away to pick Logan up.  Logan went with the flow very well which was a quick relief for us; then we were on our way to the hospital and arrived at 1am.

   Everything continued to go smoothly.  We got settled in the observation room at L & D at 1:15am, and the doctor came checked on me almost right away.  The contractions at this time were already 3 minutes apart and I was 7.5cm dilated.  They immediately moved me to the labor and delivery room.  I had decided to go without epidural, but I did ask for a small dose of pain medication (fentanyl) to ease the pain.  It made me feel more relaxed and contractions a bit less intense.  Another hour passed and at 9cm dilation, the doctor suggested she break the water for me.  Things progressed rapidly after that.  I felt the huge urge to push minutes later, and there was nothing I could do to hold back.  Fortunately the doctor was able to come right back and got ready for the action.  After 10 minutes of pushing, Connor arrived at 3:12am on 7/25/10 !!

Stuart and I went to my 37th week pre-natal appointment today.  I have gained 22 lbs, and am now 4 cm dilated with the babes head pointing downward.  Everything is going well and progressing on the right track.  Logan has now moved to his new bedroom, the baby’s crib has been adjusted back up to the upper level, sheets cleaned, diapers all stocked up, baby seat in the car and the hospital bag packed.  I guess we are just about ready now.  But of course, we wish to have two more weeks to enjoy the quasi-peace and quiet.

The doctor brought up a discussion about taking an epidural on day of labor.  With Logan, I had missed my window for the epidural but ended up tolerating the pain.  So now I am leaning toward going natural again to avoid a procedure.  Will see what happens.

Logan did it!!  It took a few trips of reassurance at bedtime, and he woke up twice overnight, but Logan slept in his new room last night.  After some practice he knows how to climb off his new bed with a step stool.  Thankfully Logan is a cautious one as at night he would sit on his bed and call for us rather than getting down himself, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about him failing off his bed.  His bedroom basically is set now; we will just slowly look for some fun wall decors and maybe a big bean bag chair for him later on.

Now we have to clean up the baby room and replace the mattress, then we will be ready for the new baby to arrive.

Yesterday was a day of Logan and me.  Stuart had to help out at the Obon Festival during the day, so Logan and I decided to join Michelle and Mckayla in the morning at Happy Hollow.  Logan was his usual “reserved” self initially, but finally warmed up and hung out with Mckayla.  It was fun watching them sharing snacks and observing each other while they played.  Logan even said “I like it” after riding the carousels; what a breakthrough! 

After our afternoon naps, we went to meet up with Daddy at the Obon.  He was relieved from this BBQ cooking duties and we went to play at the children booths for awhile before all heading home together.  Daddy managed to not find out the result of the World Cup all day and he was anxious to watch the game, so Logan and I played on our own in the yard to give daddy some TV time.  Logan was very cooperative with me all day, not giving me any hassles, which was a relief for me.  I think Logan is definitely less demanding when he knows not both parents are available.

When Stuart and I went to bed last time, I suddenly decided to grab my iPhone and look at our old blog posts and photos of Logan just after he was born.  I was reminded how exciting it was and how cute and adorable Logan was when he first arrived.  I thought about how much he has grown and how much fun he is bringing to our lives.  I know it is good to have a second child so Logan will not get too spoiled, but I started to feel very emotional and sad that some of our attention and time will be taken away from him soon.  I hope that Logan will adjust to it quickly, and that Stuart and I can maintain a good balance of everything.

     Can’t believe we are so close to the special day!  I just had my last day of work yesterday.  Work has been very busy lately; I was glad to wrap up everything just in time before heading home.  The last two days were brightened up by wonderful luncheons at work. Julie organized a great shower for me with my good friends and coworkers on Wednesday at Santa Clara.  I ended up receiving some perfect gifts for our new baby.  On Thursday my department at Campbell also took me out for a delicious lunch.  What a great way to start my maternity leave! Even Stuart is jealous that he had no celebration for his last day – last day of freedom from me.

     Now the countdown begins.  I started my first day of leave doing grocery shopping.  I will be stocking up our freezer with foods for Logan and Stuart for later on during crunch time.  Stuart and I need to finish up Logan’s big boy room and get him transition into it, so we can then prepare the baby room with more infant items again.  If we find the time, we also hope to work on purchasing a SUV that we like.  Of course, I wish to fit in some gathering time with my friends before being locked up on house arrest when the baby arrives.