Being A Big Sister

Cassandra has gotten more comfortable holding Michael.  She still asks permission which is good given she really doesn't understand how tough and fragile Michael is but he is not sure about the whole thing.  For the most part, he does tolerate her.

Sometimes though he is not too sure...like when he is in a milk coma.  Frankly, this looks more like a blackmail photo than anything else.

One Month Old

Michael turns one month old today.  We were trying to get pictures for this and Cassandra thought she should be in the pictures.  In the first shot, the flash caught Michael off guard.  By the second shot, Michael has decided that he is not having fun which is funny because Cassandra seems realty proud that Michael is going off.

Michael did do much better a few hours later after big sister had gone to bed.

Doug & Holly's Wedding Shower

Uncle Doug and Aunt Holly are in town for their wedding shower.  While they will be getting married in Florida, most of their families are here so they are coming to us.  Michael is just shy of a month old and in a few weeks, he will be the ring bearer at their wedding.  Of course, he will need Mommy to escort him down the aisle since he won't be walking for months.  They also brought a present for Cassandra to help keep her entertained.

Michael is getting the chance to meet some of Aunt Holly's family.  Here we see Michael being passed around and held by Holly's sisters Amber and Ricki and Holly's mom.

Another Michael.  Boy, they are everywhere.  Last we have Mrs. Sandy Poole.  She has known Grandma Wendel since before Daddy was born which for Michael was forever ago.

We all have the same look on our faces, don't we?

Tummy Time Is Fun

So we've started Michael on Tummy Time.  The purpose is to help build up neck muscles so he can hold up his head.  We do not leave him like this long because of his age but he seems to be enjoying himself.

Father's Day With Daddy And Sis

Michael decided it would not be beneath his dignity to pose for a photo in Daddy's lap.  The Empress on the other hand loves smiling for the camera.  She frequently asks to see the photo immediately after it has been taken.

Feeding Michael

Cassandra continues to try and be the best big sister ever.  She even helps Mommy feed Michael by holding the bottle for him "because he too small."

Naptime Is Over

Cassandra is a little red as she just got up from her nap but not fully awake either so she wants to sit on someone's lap.  Michael doesn't seem to be in a hurry to wake up so I ended up with two kids in my lap.  I wish I could do the rag-doll like Michael does and not end up with back and neck pains the next morning.

I'm So Bored!

Michael does not seem to be impressed with us.  In fact, he seems downright bored.  On the bright side, Cassandra continues to impress us with how helpful she is willing to be.  Getting this or that is something she readily agrees to.  Too bad that will not last into the teenage years!

Looking Around

Michael continues to do well.  He spends a lot of time acclimating to his new situation (not being underwater) and is really a fairly good baby.  He does seem to spit-up a lot but doesn't seem to be unhappy.  Of course, then he eats, sleeps, and poops so I guess he has nothing to complain about.  Given how scared everyone at the hospital was about his heart, we feel ourselves very fortunate.

Entertaining At Home

We've been a little lax with Michael as compared to Cassandra.  He has been home for three days and we are only now getting his first picture at home.  Well, at least he is awake and entertaining Grandma and Grandpa.

Michael's Visitors From St. Louis

Mommy's and Daddy's friends from St. Louis were in town for a family visit and were able to swing by before they headed home.  Michael was happy they visited especially since he got to meet another Michael.

Relaxing with April

Michael Squared!

First Photoshoot

Today, Michal had his first official photo shoot.  Here are some of our favorites:

"So soft!"

"Let me think about it."

Next On The List...

Aunt Kristi and Uncle John stopped by to say hi!  You cannot tell from this picture but Aunt Kristi is pregnant and is due the end of September.  This means Michael will have a cousin in town only four months younger although they probably would end up in different classes in school.

Michael hanging out with Uncle John.  Notice that Michael is wearing a different hat from yesterday.  He is not really a fan of hats, completely opposite of his sister.  Like I said, it will be interesting to see how different they are.

Time To Meet The Grandparents

Well first up tonight is Papa Hodges.  Michael proceeded to treat Papa like everyone else, as a warm pillow.  I guess he was so exhausted by the 12 hours of labor he just couldn't be bothered to stay awake.  Funny part is Papa joked about not knowing what to do with a boy because he had four daughters and four granddaughters.  Guess he is going to need to read the manual but is doing good so far.

Now Grandma Hodges gets a turn to hold Michael.  Notice the spot of high fashion that Grandma is wearing.  Grandpa thought the yellow sticker looked so good that he should have one.

Grandma Wendel knows exactly what to do with boys since she had three of her own.  They need trains and cars and trucks just like Daddy has been giving Cassandra.  (So far, so good as Cassandra loves trains.)  With my luck, it will balance out on Michael and he will probably like hot pink.

Grandpa Wendel gets a turn holding Michael.  Notice how relaxed Grandpa is sitting in the sun with Michael.  Guess he is a sun baby.  Maybe he will get lucky and tan like Daddy.

Hello Everybody!

Well the doctors are satisfied that Michael's earlier elevated heart rate was just a result of loss of amniotic fluid.  We are very glad of this because it means they will start leaving him with us for longer than 30 minutes at a time.

This being the case, it is time to start meeting people.  Michael's first visitors are Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Samantha.  Cheryl's smile might be related to Michael's cuteness or be related to this being the first male grandchild in the family.  Michael's cousins (and of course sister) are all female so the "tradition" just got messed up.  You knows Mommy likes to get people of of their comfort zone, right?  The Hodges mojo couldn't last forever, right?

Aunt Cheryl

 Samantha is holding Michael a little differently than she held Cassandra.  I think she is a little uncertain because he is a boy.

Michael's Cousin Samantha

Andy, Come Get Me...Now!

So, yesterday was interesting.  We had a client appreciation luncheon, a fish fry.  Included in this meal were jalapeno hush puppies.  Now, normally jalapeno is not my thing but one ended up in the wrong pan so I ended up with it.  I went ahead and ate it so as not to be wasteful.  That turned out to be a mistake.  It went down fine and made my stomach feel kind of unsettled but didn't burn my mouth one bit.  Weird.

Later that afternoon, I was on a conference call with a client when Janice tried calling.  I pushed it to voicemail and continued with the call.  Then she calls on the work line.  Our little code is that if you call back immediately after getting voicemail, it is important (emergency) so I muted the work phone and  called her back on my cell.  She needs me to take her to the hospital because it is time.  I let the client know what is going on and head out.  I pick Janice up and off we go to KU Med.  

Per directions, I drop her off at the emergency room entrance and go to park the car.  Anyway, by the time I get the car parked and up to Labor & Delivery, they are talking about a c-section.  I'm shocked because she only just went into labor.  It is then explained to me that baby's heart is racing and is distressed.  They get some liquid into Janice and things settle down but the staff hovers and makes very sure the baby monitor has a good read on the heart.

That settled, I'm starting to feel ill.  The nurses are discretely asking Janice if I need to be dismissed.  She tells them that I had no problems the first time and it was something I ate.  A new nurse comes in and sees us and starts seeing if I'm OK and Janice is the one in labor.  That being said, I know I looked bad because of how I felt.  At one point, I go out to the men's room and am standing over the toilet, holding onto the safety bars for balance (I have none at this point), literally dripping sweat, praying that I be allowed to throw up.

In the end, I started feeling better and Janice became the focus.  After several hours of trying, it was finally decided that the reason for no baby is that while head down, baby is facing the wrong way.  They had poor Janice get on her knees, roll to her back, get back on her knees again, repeatedly, until finally everyone is positioned right.  Michael comes pretty quickly at this point...over 12 hours later.

Mommy and Baby are glad to be done.

Michael Andrew, born 3:47 on May 24, 2013.
Weight: 8 lbs, 9 oz         Length:  21.25 inches