Three Schneiders: Three Schneiders & Four Austins

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Three Schneiders & Four Austins

You can expect lots of photos of Baby Jack's entrance into the world on my sister's blog soon, but here are a few to hold you over. I'll let her tell her own story on her blog, but suffice it to say here that my sister is an absolute rockstar and she forever destroyed the conventional wisdom about some babies being "too big" for their petite mothers to safely deliver. Um - 10 pound baby. Just sayin...

We were SOOO LUCKY that Jack waited until his induction date so we could be there for all the action. (Especially in light of the bloodclot scare that threatened everything. I gotta say it was a little insane and a lot emotional to be at the hospital for Jack's birth just 24 hours after being at the hospital myself to find out if my baby would survive.)

Here are some photos from Jack's first 48 hours. (These are all Schneider-centric for a reason. I gave my sister all the other pics so she could post those on her blog.)

Baby Jack. Literally just minutes old...

They next day...Josie gets to meet him. Big thanks to Tio & Louie for doing what they needed to do to "smuggle" Josie into the new baby wing even though she wasn't supposed to be there. She would've been beyond-heartbroken if she didn't get to see him that day because her mama had promised her that she'd get to see him in the hospital for about 3 months leading up to the big day. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...for these moments:

While Tia & Tio were busy getting to know Jack at the hospital, we were busy teaching Lyla bad habits back at their house. Josie taught Lyla one of her favorite tricks - leaping from the ottoman to the couch. And Lyla is a fearless flyer!

These action shots of Lyla-the-blur absolutely crack me up!

And after all that excitement, they needed a little treat. So they ate ice cream sandwiches...together...in a box.

And the next morning they got all cleaned up for the homecoming of Baby Jack!

(And this is about the moment where Louie & I conspired to hatch a plan for bringing Lyla back to Cincinnati for awhile...ya know...because Manda & Michael were going to be so busy...ok...because really we just adore her and Josie does, too.)

I have no doubt that one day we'll be trying to snatch this little guy to bring back home with us too. Dear sweet baby Jack, we love you already. Welcome to the family!

And HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda, Michael, and Lyla for becoming FOUR AUSTINS!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: I love all these photos, and congrats auntie. I especially enjoythe photo of you, Josie and Baby Jack. Congrats to the Austin family. Laurie; September 7, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Charissa Talsma said...: Congrats to your sister and the family! And, I must say it's a bit of a relief to see that our child is not the only one running around the house in her panties. That was Violet's summer wardrobe.....; September 7, 2010 at 3:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for capturing the day/weekend so beautifully. Baby Jack is just too cute and coming form a girl that just adores her cousin, Lyla and Josie are def two peas in a pod. XO - Case (manda's Chi-town friend); September 13, 2010 at 9:18 PM

Things I've Learned So Far

When on bedrest, cravings are satisfied in bulk. A chai tea latte is not out of reach. It will arrive as a case of six 32-oz cartons courtesy of Amazon prime in two business days.
Fall/Winter maternity clothes are infinitely more expensive, uncomfortable, and ugly than Spring/Summer maternity clothes! (And I miss my flip-flops already!)
BELIEVE in miracles!
If your two-year old tells you that you need to be more patient, she's probably right.
Moving is hard. Moving with a toddler is even harder.
There are no guarantees.
Don't let your two-year old pick out the kind of Valentine's Day cards she wants to make. There's a good chance she's overly-ambitious.
Take nothing for granted.
If you pay close enough attention, your little one will totally show you the right path in most situations. They're wise little souls. We should give them more credit. And we should follow their lead.
If your child is doing some well/good/desirable/etc, people attritbute that to chance. But, if your child is doing something wrong/incorrect/undesirable/etc, that gets chalked-up to your parenting.
There is no sense in trying to make children grow up any faster than they already do.
There is no better compliment than someone whose opinion you value saying that you are good parents - and meaning it.
Parenting is deeply personal.
Use the words "I promise" sparingly. There are very few things you can actually guarantee your child and broken promises really hurt.
As a parent, there are some things you do because you think you're supposed to...And then there are the things you do because you know you have to.
There's nothing quite like a conversation with a two-year old.
The development of language is mind-boggling! And so much fun to watch develop!
Everything happens for a reason. Everything. Even though it's sometimes hard to figure out why.
Traveling with a toddler might be a trip, but it definitely is not a vacation.
"Wean" doesn't have to be a four-letter word.
It is true what the say - the days are long, but the years are short. Happy first birthday Josephine!
The baby's needs always come first. (Case in point: her dinner was a well-balanced, all-organic meal of turkey, cheddar cheese cubes, vegetable hummus & raisins for dessert. Mine was a bowl of Coco Crispies.)
I thought that first smile was a good as it got...until the day she first reached out for me. I knew that was the best feeling in the world...Until she looked at me and said "Mama!" :)
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who wave back to a baby in stroller & those who don't.
Mother's Day & Father's Day are definitely more than "Hallmark Holidays."
The people who designed the Sesame Street characters knew what they were doing!
Babies do not understand time zones!
There is no shame in buying a one-piece bathing suit. ;)
Time spent just sitting and staring at Josephine is time well spent! The fact that we created her and the fact that she is ours still amazes me every single day. We are totally in awe of our beautiful daugther!
Pureed beets and babies don't mix.
One of "those nights" is usually followed by one of "those days."
Blowing bubbles is fun for the whole family.
Seven month olds definitely know how to dance!
Baby monitors are also useful for identifying when you've accidentally locked a cat in the baby's room.
With a little practice, it is possible to update the blog, talk on the phone, eat lunch, and pump breastmilk all at the same time. (Now that's what I call multi-tasking.)
A five month old baby does not know how to "pet" a cat. However, a five month baby is very good at making a cat really angry!
Diaper rash cream has lots of different uses!
There's no doubt in my mind that you would find a nasal aspirator / nose suction bulb in a museum of torture devices.
A cat's meow and a baby's cry sound oddly similar at 4am.
The hospital should keep all the samples of free formula and pass out white noise and Elizabeth Mitchell CDs instead!
The day Josie no longer wants to hold my hand will definitely be a sad day. In the meantime, I'm content to stay in her room a couple extra minutes in the middle of the night with her little hand wrapped tightly around my finger.
The holidays really are more special once you've started your own family.
When all else fails - just breathe & remain grateful! Even the worst days are the best days of our lives.
It's okay to do at least half of the things you swore you would never do as a parent.
Parenting means you must always be up for a change of plans - even if that means giving up dinner at your favorite restaurant for White Castle in the back seat while nursing your baby.
Never take an over-tired baby to the mall in a bassinet!
Those damn baby nail clippers are lethal weapons - I hope Josie won't miss the top half of her pointer finger!
Two sets of sheets are not enough.
It's okay to cry when you put away baby clothes that no longer fit anymore.
Strangers almost always hold the door open for a pregnant woman, but almost never do so for a woman with a stroller.
There is nothing like that first toothless smile!
You haven't lived until you've had to handle a diaper blowout SO BIG that the only way out of it is to cut your baby's clothes off of her to avoid covering her head with poo.
There is absolutely, positively nothing worse in the entire world that seeing your child in pain and not being able to help her.
Never leave home without an extra set of clothes for yourself & at least two extra sets of clothes for the baby.
Baby pee dries quickly and doesn't require a change of clothes (no one will ever know...)
Picking little baby boogers is more fun than it should be.
If Josie is totally relaxed and smiling, she probably just pooped.
Thank goodness the baby doesn't realize I usually don't know what the heck I'm doing.
Lou has missed his calling as a performer of children's songs & should definitely look into recording his smash hit "Mama's Milk".
Nipples stretch like rubberbands.

Three Schneiders

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Three Schneiders & Four Austins

3 comments:

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