My first day outnumbered

Since my parents left Sunday, yesterday was my first day alone with the kids. I wanted to keep a detailed journal of what my first day alone with two kids was like so that I could always remember it. Although, maybe I'd rather forget it. No, actually it wasn't too bad, we survived. Here it is.

Sunday night: Good, the baby slept well between feedings, but was ready to greet the day bright and early at 4:30.

5:15: Still wide awake, so I decide to take a shower, since I can't figure out how to take one without Brynn torturing Bryce. Marty interrupts to tell me that Brynn is crying for Grandma and Grandpa and offers to go get her. I hustle out and get dressed so that Marty isn't late for work.

Brynn is good for quite a while and Bryce and I take it easy.

7:00 we go downstairs to get breakfast. But Bryce wants to eat first, so it's puzzle time for Brynn while we both start to get pretty hungry. While I'm feeding Bryce, Brynn climbs up on the coffee table and gets time-out...then realizes Mommy can't put her in time-out while nursing and continues to climb up while I give out empty threats.

During breakfast I find out Bryce likes his swing. It's the first time I've been able to put him in since Brynn is contained in the high chair and can't "help" push him.

The rest of the morning goes pretty smoothly, with Brynnie and I pretty close to our old routine (except scratch the housework - my poor body is still recovering).

By 9:30 I start to feel pretty ambitious, so I get everyone and everything ready to go down the block and to the park. But by the time all that work is done, I'm all tuckered out, so we settle for running through the sprinklers in the back yard instead.

More smooth time. But I can't ever for the life of me remember to drink water until I'm all settled and nursing and can't go get it.


Ahhh, Bryce is asleep. In a desperate attempt to keep Brynn stationary and out of trouble for just a few minutes, I offer a bath with her special new Cinderella soap from Grandma and Grandpa. She falls for it (Mwa ha ha)! I get my pillow and thow it down in the hallway where I can watch her. The hard floor has never been so inviting! Arg, baby screaming. Hmmm...how do I wash Brynn's hair one-handed...there are remnants of her last four meals in her hair, I really should wash it....I'm going to call Rachel and have her remind me of the baby store that sells baby slings.

Lunch-time: corn dogs and yogurt, anyone? Here is where I start counting down the minutes until Brynn's naptime (and mine). So far I have managed to not clock-watch, but now that I have given in, I think Brynn's nap will never come!

1:00 Ahh...we're all ready for a nap. Bryce is asleep in the cradle, Brynn is in her crib, my bed is so soft. Brynn plays/cries in her crib for an HOUR and a HALF and I find out that a toddler who is up at 5:00 and doesn't nap is almost as cranky as a post-partum mommy who was up all night and misses a nap. But Brynn, being too smart for her own good, showers me with kisses and all is forgiven.

4:30 The last few hours of juggling nursing Bryce and playing with Brynn have again gone well, but now I am counting down the minutes until 5:00 when Marty gets home. My body is screaming at me now, so...another movie, Brynn?

5:00 I love Relief Society!!! Dinner comes to my door from my sweet visiting teacher, and not a minute too soon.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur as my mind stops functioning and I stop journaling. My hero, Marty came home and to the rescue taking care of diapers, dishes, tantrums, and Brynn's nasty poopy panties. Although later that night a miracle happened and she went into the bathroom and pooped on the potty all on her own! Let's see, I also remember Marty doing FHE and...more and more nursing....ya, my brain really did turn off. And if you can't tell, it is now shutting off again. This is the last time I try to put down coherent thoughts after 8:00 p.m. That is until Bryce is a little older.

And that's my first day being outnumbered by kids! We survived!

Today went even smoother. The question I am left with tonight is, WHEN do you EVER get anything done between entertaining kids? Hopefully I'll keep growing into this mommy thing and figure it out.

On another note, I took Bryce to the doctor for his weight check today and he was 7lb 15 oz! So we no longer have to worry so much about his weight. It feels so good to know that all of my hard work nursing is paying off!

I'm back...sort of

Bryce Allan Johnson

First few days at home...
















sleepy....















and mellow.

So far we've been really lucky with this sweet little guy. He's not much of a crier yet. Usually when he cries it's something legitimate like he's hungry or needs a diaper change or a burp. And then as soon as you take care of it he's mellow again. He is SO sleepy, too. We have to set the alarm at night to wake him up to get him to eat.

We were so lucky to be able to have my parents come out on Saturday, the 25th. My dad stayed for a few days, and my mom was able to stay until today! I don't know how I could have survived without them! The first couple of nights my mom kept Bryce with her and just brought him to me when he was hungry, which was a life-saver. And of course she worked her fingers to the bone and put up with Brynn's tantrums all day so I could have some quality time with Bryce. I love you, Mom and Dad! It absolutely kills me to think that the next time my parents see Bryce, he will no longer be a newborn, but I am counting down the days until we can visit them in a couple months.

Brynn is trying to make adjustments. Considering what a light sleeper she is, I have been surprised at how well she is doing at night. Bryce's crying still hasn't woken her up. However she is always a little too excited to have a baby brother. Whenever he is asleep she gets up in his face and laughs and laughs and then laughs harder when she startles him. And then tries to tickle his tummy and then gets sent to time-out and so on. But so far, nothing too brutal.

Sunday, April 26th

So here are the details of Sunday. We went in to be induced Sunday morning at 5 a.m. I was dilated to a 3, so we were hoping this time around would go a little faster. And it definitely did! Things were progressing and going smoothly for a couple hours until Bryce decided he didn't care much for contractions, and his heart rate was going way down. Our nurses said it was a good thing we were getting the little dude out of there that day, poor guy. He was probably pretty unhappy on Wednesday when I was having all those big contractions all night long. I love my doctor. She really has a good poker face. Being busy with, you know, labor and everything, I guess I missed a lot of the exchanges going on between the doctors and nurses, and had no idea until after he was born how close I came to a c-section. Marty caught it all, and thankfully he had a pretty good poker face, too. But they held off and before I knew it, it was time to push and he kinda just flew right out! I think this guy was READY. My doctor was teasing me later for being the only patient she's ever had who has given birth and then as soon as my mom came in the room I guess I said, "That was so easy!" But, ya know, I only had Brynn's torturous labor to compare it with, and it was not at all the same.

And so, little Bryce was born at 1:56, happy, healthy, handsome, and with a stylish little part in his hair. We just spent Sunday night at the hospital and then went home Monday evening. And we all lived happily ever after. The end.

Big Sister meets Little Brother

This is still Marty. Brynn did some cute things when she met her little bro the first time that I thought were cool. Right, by the way, he was 8 lbs even. He was 21 inches long and was born at 1:56 pm on Sunday. Emily and Bryce are both doing amazing. Bryce came home with us Monday night and went to the pediatrition today with no complications. Our little man is just a little sore because his little man had the job done.

I Love My Wife!!!

This is Marty so you know that nothing fancy is coming but since Emily is busy feeding and sleeping she asked me to post a little bit. I am so proud of her. She is such a wonderful person and I am so grateful for the sacrifices she is willing to make for our Eternal Family.

Bob Ross as a labor coach

Does anybody know this guy? He has a show on PBS that I used to watch on Saturday mornings called, "The Joy of Painting." He is this happy, peaceful hippy with the most soothing voice I have ever heard. Well, this morning Marty took Brynn to get our produce basket, so I flipped on this show while I was eating breakfast. I came to the conclusion that, if I didn't have such an amazing, wonderful husband, I would totally want Bob Ross as a labor coach. How can anyone be in his presence and not be calm? Today (in the soft, smooth voice) he was saying things like:

"We don't make mistakes -- we have happy accidents." And...

"We want happy paintings. Happy paintings. If you want sad things, watch the news."

And he was giving the trees little friends, and drawing happy little clouds...ah. How does one become as serene as Bob Ross? :)

Maybe I'll try to round up a couple of episodes to take with me to the hospital!

So far, my bag of hospital distractions includes:

*scriptures

*Games: Canasta, Phase 10, Sequence

*Sudoku

*A little CD player and CDs: Church music, Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, and some Dvorak, Chopin, and Debussy. Calm people. :)

*A baby magazine

Marty was so wonderful I while I was in labor last time. All two and a half days of it! Hopefully this time I won't need so many distractions for such a long time. The night before I went to the hospital to have Brynn, Marty and I watched Rocky IV. He said I couldn't go through something as intense as labor without seeing the "Eye of the Tiger" song/scene. Then when I'd get big contractions he'd start singing that song and acting like a coach or something. At first it was really cute and funny. Then I wanted to punch him. I think he got the point. Last night we You-tubed that scene and watched it again, so I am PREPARED!

I guess it's kind of late to be asking this since we go to the hospital tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m., but what do you ladies bring with you for while you're in labor?

For the record

Here are our predictions. They are pretty similar.

I say Bryce will be born on April 27th (ya, just call me a pessimist), he will weigh 7 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches tall, and will have more hair than just fuzz, but not nearly as much as Brynn, and quite a bit lighter than Brynn's was when she was born. I'm think I'm picturing his hair lighter than Marty is.

Marty says Bryce will be born on April 26th at 10:00 p.m., weighing 7 lbs 8 oz, 21 inches tall, and will have some dark hair.

Last night a funny thing happened. We were watching AI ("Stayin' Alive," Matt? Seriously?) and I was running through my list of things to do this week with Marty and it was something like, "Go grocery shopping, finish the laundry, have a baby....WHAT?! Have a baby THIS WEEK? I'm having a baby this week!" CRAZY feeling!

Thanks, Christa!

So, my good friend Christa threw a shower for me, and like I dunce I forgot to take any pictures during it. Marty took these later when I remembered. But anyway, thank you so much, Christa! And thanks to everyone who came to show their support as I embark on this huge new adventure!

Ok, I am now finally prepared for a boy - look at all that blue! Marty was a happy camper when he saw all that.

Brynn has gone nuts over this huge balloon. It doesn't mix well with the ceiling fan, though.