Welcome Maxwell Kevin Law

Kam's little brother, Maxwell Kevin Law, made his appearance into the world on Sept 2nd at 11:13pm.  He weighed 8.2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.    He is already a competitive little guy beating his brother with a quick entrance into the world with only a 2 hour labor.    Here's Max's birth story.

The last few weeks of my pregnancy were very uncomfortable.  California is having unseasonably warm weather, and I was having severe back pain (sciatica) making it difficult to walk and even more difficult to carry Kam man.   Not to mention the Dr. was predicting this baby to be bigger than Kam (who was 9 lbs) and strongly suggested I give up sugar for the last 5-6 weeks of my pregnancy.   Everyone that knows me knows I have a huge sweet tooth so this was very difficult for me.  I cried.   Ken was a great support though and hid all the sugar in the house and gave up sugar along with me.   He lost 6 lbs by the way - from just giving up sugar.   Ha.  Needless to say - I was over being pregnant.     At 37 weeks I went for my normal check up on a Monday.    I asked the doctor is she was going to check to see if I was dilated.    She said she doesn't normally but would if I wanted.  I said yes b/c I just had a feeling I was dilated.   Sure enough when Dr Williams checked she said "oh my are you feeling like you are going to have this baby right now?"  I said "I dunno, am I going to have this baby right now?!"   She said you are 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced.   She's like you are just barely 37 weeks and I really need you to make it to 38.  I told her I needed to make it to 38 too.  First of all I had plenty of things to still wrap up at work, and most importantly my mom wasn't going to be out until that Sunday.  She was going to be the one to stay with Kam when we went to the hospital.    So I was on strict orders from the Dr. to take it easy and had to stop working out.    

I made it through the work week but was very nervous I was going to go into labor at work, my worst nightmare.   My last day in the office was Thursday and I worked from home on Friday.   My mom arrived on Sunday and Monday was Labor Day.   We enjoyed some good beach time with Kam and my mom and headed back to the Dr on Tuesday morning.     I knew Dr Williams would strip my membranes at 38 weeks (which I was at that point).  Since it was a long drive to the Dr office (and the hospital), about 35 minutes but could be longer if you are in rush hour, Ken and I brought our hospital bags just in case the Dr. told us to stay close.    Mom stayed with Kam.  I had a 9:15am appointment.   She checked me and I had not progressed any further (which I had figured since I had taken it easy all week).   She striped my membranes and told us to stay close (as I had suspected).  Dr. Williams said that she thought this one would go quick.   I ask how quick and she said 2 hours.  I laughed and told her she was crazy.   She said why don't you two just stay close for a few hours, go walk around Balboa park and see if anything happens.    She said if anything changes at all to head to the hospital immediately. So around 10:15 we headed to Balboa park.   Ken and I walked around the park for about 2 hours.   It was pretty hot and my back was bothering me, but we tried to enjoy some alone time together.    I was a little crampy, but knew that would happen not matter what.   We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at our favorite spot, The Prado.   As I sat all the cramping stopped.   I told Ken I didn't think we were going to have a baby today.       Dr. Williams had tried to strip my membranes to move labor along with Kam and it didn't work so I was convinced it wasn't going to work with this guy either.  I really didn't want to get my hopes up.        After lunch Ken suggested we walk around a bit longer.  I gave it about another hour and my feet and back were aching and I told Ken we should just head home.

So home we went.   Disappointed and still pregnant.   Kam was happy to see us "home from work"  that's where we told him we went.   We enjoyed a nice afternoon and dinner with Kam and mom.   After dinner, Ken and I took Kam to the park.   As I walked to the park my cramps had returned, but again nothing too intense.    It had been my fear all along that I was not going to know when I was in labor.  Since I was induced with Kam I really never had to know when to go to the hospital.     As we were walking home the cramps did feel like they were getting stronger but as soon as I sat down they would stop.   These must be braxton hicks, I thought.   Ken and I gave Kam a bath and I put him to bed.  Kam was extra clingy to  me that night and wouldn't fall asleep unless I stayed in the room with him.  I really think he must have sensed something I didn't know quite yet.    As I sat next to his bed I realized I was still cramping, even though I was sitting down.    Around 8pm I was able to tiptoe out of his room and head downstairs.    I laid on the couch next to mom and Ken and begin to time  my contractions (without either of them knowing).   I had 3 contractions about 8 minutes apart and I turned to Ken and said "I think we need to go to the hospital"   He and mom looked at me stunned.   I said yes I'm pretty sure I'm having contractions and they are 8 minutes apart.     I said I'm not sure, they probably will send me home but I think we should head down to the hospital just in case.   So we brushed our teeth, changed our clothes and put our bags back in the car.  I told mom we'd keep her posted but still really wasn't sure if I was in labor or not.  

We left our house at 8:35pm.   On the way I had about 3 more contractions.   I told Ken, maybe I really am in labor.   We arrived to the hospital at 9:10pm and checked right in.  The nurses said Dr Williams had given them a heads up that I might be in tonight and given them strict instructions to get me admitted and my epidural in as soon as possible as it would likely be a quick delivery.  She also wanted them to call her ASAP even though she wasn't on call that night.   Given my previous delivery with Kam she wanted to be there in person to deliver my baby.   I was relieved.  They got Ken and I into a room right away and hooked me up to a monitor.   I asked the woman, am I in labor, are those contractions??    She laughed and said yes you are definitely in labor and Dr Williams is on her way.    I was 6 cm and 100% effaced when I checked into the hospital.    They asked what my pain was on a scale of 1-10.  I said 4.  They asked when I wanted the epidural and I said now.  I was NOT going to miss my window to get the epi, especially if this was going to move quickly.   Dr Williams was in my room by 9:30pm  and the nurses told her they had ordered the epi.  She said well hold on she doesn't look like she is in pain, then she checked me and was like okay, wow ya we are going to have a baby tonight!    Get her the epi.  Haha.     I had the epi a few minutes later and then Dr Williams broke my water.    She said she was going to lay down for a bit but if I felt any pressure to ring the bell and whatever I do, DONT push without her in the room.  By the way, I had the same nurse and the same anesthesiologist as I did with Kam!  How awesome is that?!  

A few minutes later a nurse came in  to give me my catheter. fun.   She checked me and said wow, you're already at 8 cm.   Ken and I were laughing b/c we thought we were going to have a baby the next morning but this guy had different plans, and we still didn't have a name yet!    :-)   The nurse stressed again that if I felt any pressure to call her immediately.   Ken and I were having a conversation about what to name the baby.  We were pretty set on Maxwell but at this point we decided to wait and see what this little guy looks like.   All the sudden I felt some pressure but then it went away.   I rang my bell and called the nurse.   She said I just checked you are you sure?   I said I dunno, I mean I didn't even know I was in labor but told her to check just in case.   Sure enough, it was go time.  She told me to close my legs and DON'T PUSH she was calling Dr. Williams.      Looks like we were going to have this baby before Midnight.   Dr Williams came in, and before we knew it we had a baby!.  Maxwell cried and cried when he first came out.  So much so that Ken and I both looked at each other with a "what did we get ourselves into" face but after the nurse stopped poking and prodding him, he calmed down.   

Being in the hospital with your second child is very different than your first baby -not as many Dr's and nursing coming in all the time.  They pretty much figure you must know what you are doing and leave you alone.   Max slept very well in the hospital and Ken and I actually enjoyed some quiet time together.  We were even able to catch up on Homeland while we were there.     That will always be one of my favorite memories, Max asleep in the bassinet next to us and Ken cuddled next to me in the hospital bed as we watched homeland on the iPad.    

The next day Al drove down my mom, and Kam to meet Maxwell.   Kam was very excited to see his baby brother and wanted to hug and kiss him right away.   It was a very sweet moment for us all.    I was feeling great the next day and already asking the Dr. when I could go home and how soon I could work out.  This was night and day from my previous recovery.  I was very anxious to get released and head home to be with both my boys but because Max came at 11pm we had to stay one more night in the hospital.  Kam was anxious for us to get home too.  Mom said he kept looking out the window asking for mom and dad!

Our first few days home were good.  Max slept a ton and Kam was a great big brother.  In fact it was hard for us to keep him away from his brother.  He always wants to hug and kiss on him and it's so hard to explain to a 2 year old what 'gentle' is for a newborn.   I hope Kam is always that in love with Max but when he's not I'll remind him how much he loved his little bro!    The first few nights were a different story!  ha.  Kam must have still been teething b/c he and Max tag teamed us.  Just as I would get Max down, Kam would cry out.  Ken and I would divide and conquer  but it left us both exhausted.   I remember on the second night home there was a moment in the early morning that brought me to tears and I found myself thinking what did we get ourselves into?!!   Having them so close together was crazy.   But after a few days we got into the swing of things and Kam got back into a normal sleep routine.   Phew.  We are handling it all pretty well if I do say so myself :-)

At Max's first doctor's visit, the Dr was concerned that he had dropped too much weight.  He was down to 7.4 (from 8.2).  My milk hadn't come in yet so the doctor suggested supplementing with formula but I asked if  I could just feed him every 2 hours instead and bring him in the next day.   i knew that would help my milk come in and also help Max gain if he was eating more often.  While exhausting, it worked because when we brought him in the next day he was 7.11!!   He's had no problem since as then he has been gaining about a pound a week and today, on his 1 month birthday he is 10.8.  BIG BOY!  

We've had lots of help from family.  My mom stayed for 3 weeks and Kevin and Sue came out for a week as well.  Auntie Nat will be joining us next week.  We love all the extra help and are so thankful for the extra hands on deck.    It's especially nice to give Kam some extra attention as well.  

We've already had our first milestone: 

Max has already rolled over - at 10 days old - beating his big brother Kam who rolled over at 3 weeks.  :-)

Things that I didn't remember from my first pregnancy:

How many diapers you go through

How bad nursing hurts when you first start (clearly blocked this out) 

How awful it hurts when your milk comes in (again blocked that out for a reason)

How many hours a newborn sleeps (we thought something was wrong with Max he was sleeping so much)

How awful the night sweats are (hormones sucks)

How much you still worry about every little thing.

kam meeting is brother for the first time grandma and the boy

 first morning home with my boys

sweet Max

Grandma Kathy Meets Max

Headed home from the hospital!

Funny things we will look back and laugh about later:

* I cried when the Dr told me I needed to give up sugar at 34 weeks pregnant or else i was going to have a 10 lb baby

* Max peed or pooped on someone consistently for the first 14 days of his life.  I'm talking projectile poop.  Impressive.    Kam never once did that to us in 2 years.   

* Max's right testie didn't decend down until he was about 2 weeks old.  We were very nervous at first and were worried he didn't have one or that he would have to have surgery to help bring it down but once we knew it was in fact there, and starting to make it's way down, we joked around calling him uno.   Sorry Max

*The number of times I've already taken him to the doctor (other than his normal wellness visits).   I think about 3.  I was worried about his eye (clogged tear duct).  I was worried he had a cold (congestion), I was worried he had a botched circumcision (redundant foreskin) and a 'weird belly' as Al calls it (normal milk belly).  You think  by the second one I've had this figured out.    Also during one of my many Dr's visits Max blew through all 3 diapers I had in my diaper bag and I waited so long for the Dr that I started leaking all over the place.  I was a hot mess and laughed and said nothing will make you feel more like a new mom then that!  

As I mentioned, my recovery has been very different this time around.  I was up and walking within hours of giving birth.   I had a very easy labor and delivery with Max.  The one thing I have been fighting is my Sciatica.    I had problems with this towards the end of my pregnancy  mostly from carrying the baby weight and 25 lb toddler.   I was hoping it would go away after birth but staying in the hospital bed only made it worse.   Luckily my massage therapist did some great work on it and has referred me to a great chiropractor.     I was seeing them both multiple times a week for several weeks and I'm finally starting to feel and walk normal again.    

Overall, I think Max looks a lot like Kam did as a newborn.  However, his hair is a bit darker than Kams,  his eyes are lighter and his skin tone appears darker as well.    He seems a bit more laid back. We've taken him out to loud public places several times (2 birthday parties and one octoberfest) and he's slept the entire time.       He isn't a good burper - neither was Kam.    He's up about 2 times a night.  We usually put him down around 10 and he gets up between 1 and 2 and then again between 4-5.     Occasionally he's up 3 times but for the most part we get about 3 hour stretches of sleep.   

We can't wait to watch Max continue to grow and see what his personality will be.  I think he will be more laid back then Kam but only time will tell.  What I do know is that we love him so much already.  As a mom you always worry if you will have enough time/love to go around and I can tell you this - the minute that 2nd baby enters your life your heart grows bigger than you ever imagined.   I love both my boys to the moon and back!   We are truly blessed with two beautiful, healthy boys!  

grandma suzi loves max

grandpa and Kam are best buds!

great visit with these two!

23 months and long overdue

This post is long overdue but as you can imagine life with a toddler and a pregnant woman are very hectic.  LOTS have happened since my last post so again this will probably read more like bullet points than an actual blog but hey it's better than nothing.

Ken took a new job with Key Benefits Administrators - our good family friend, Larry Dust, runs the company and Ken gets to work from home.  Now that he is home so much and gets to have lunch with Kam everyday he and Kam are best buds!  Too cute!

Kam crawled out of his crib for the first time at 20 months.   He crawled out and unfortunately fell and broke his arm! :-)  So first time out of the crib, first broken bone, first trip to the ER and first cast :-/.     He only had to wear it for 3 weeks and it didn't slow him down one bit.  he was still running, climbing and jumping all over the place.  we had to put away all the water toys and stay away from the pool for 3 weeks.  Bath time was brutal but other than that he was a champ

Because Kam climbed out of the crib we had to transition him to a toddler bed.  We converted his crib and he transitioned fairly easily - for the first month and a half... then we had an interesting turn of events after taking the binky  away but  more on this later.

We took his 6th round trip back home to IL in July.   We had a lot of fun with both grandparents and he loved boating and swimming with his cousins at the lake.  Kam loved Johnny and played with him a ton.

final days of the paci for Kam!

We also were able to take Kam to visit the U of I Campus and show him where mommy and daddy met.  It was hot but we had a great time showing him all our favorite places! 

our family at the alma!

 Kam's Namesake

 Our family at the eternal flame

We also attempted a few family photos with the Rodeen size while we were home.  Needless to say trying to get two toddlers and a 6 year old to cooperate was slightly stressful.  

No More BINKY!   After we returned home from our trip to IL the binky fairy made a visit to the Law house and took all of Kam's Binky's and left him with a gift for the first few nights he slept successfully without it.   He got a Monster truck, a new bouncy ball, and a guitar.  The guitar was definitely his favorite.  The first few bedtimes without the binky were rough but we all survived.    Kam was 22 months when we took the Binky away but Ken felt very strongly he was too old for the binky! :-)

Right after we took the binky away Kam started getting his 2 year molars - yes at 22 months - he always got all of his teeth very early.  This was BRUTAL and lasted for what it felt like an eternity.   We notice in mid July his bottom ones coming in.  It is now mid Aug and the top ones are still pushing through but we are almost in the clear.    He got a really high fever again (like he did when he got his first set of molars last July).  102 degrees!   But he started to refuse to take any medicine - even though he used to love the taste.  He spit it out all over the couch or his bed or whereever we tried to give it to him.   We would try to hid it in his milk, smoothie or other food and he would also taste it and refuse it.  Finally I figured out the  ultimately mommy trick.  I would freeze the ibuprofen in an icepop and then give it to him in popsicle form.   The trick worked thank goodness.   This teething has by far been the hardest b/c besides refusing the medicine Kam has begun to test boundaries, throw fits, (throw thing including our iPad which cracked the screen), HIT :-( and worse of all walk out of his room at all hours of the night.  

JABBER BOX -  jam is quite talkative these days.  as far as we can count he knows over 250 words.  He is just a sponge and repeats everything he hears.  He is even starting to put together sentences.
He uses phrases like "here it is", "wait a minute",  "we're home" or "how about"...   Here is a hilarious video of Kam trying to say "Frog"

He's still obsessed with his pup and knows the difference between the back up pup we got.

Kam loves the park and asks to go multiple times a day.   He likes to swing and go down the slide there.  Daddy often takes him at night to burn off some extra energy before bed.

Kam has peed and pooped on the potty - but not consistently at 22 months.   If we ask him if he needs to go potty and he says yes he will sit right on the potty and pee!

He is obsessed with minions.  Aunt nat visited (to help mom nest for baby #2) and introduced him to despicable me and it is the only movie he has ever sat through.  We now have watched both movies 1 and 2 about 100 times.  Kam just loves the minions and loves to dance to the music in the movie - especially the 'happy' song.

Kam kisses the baby (my belly) and gives my belly a lot of raspberries.  He also points to my belly button and says "POP" haha.

He basically down to one nap a day  usually going around 12:30 or 1:00 for only about an hour maybe an hour and half if we are lucky.

Kam can be very particular about what he wears  -for a period of time he only wanted to wear his "hunk pj's" or he would ask for a 'pink shirt' but he doesn't even own one.   He also tries to get dressed himself.  He loves dressing up in both mommy and daddy's clothes.  He knows how to put on shirts very well.

He also is a fairly picky eater - he eats a lot of 'shakes' which are protein shakes we make with chocolate protein, peanut butter and banana with milk.

We think he knows his colors but if asked what color something is he calls everything "pink" or occasionally white.  But if you let him tell you on his own he knows colors like blue and purple.

His favorite number is two. - everything is 2!

Kam loves to swim and is getting pretty brave jumping in (with a floatie on) and swims around.

Here are some of my other favorite photos of our family over the past few months

 Mom and I at the baby shower sue hosted

 our family + Al and Ken's Birthday party

Kam and I at the baby shower Lauren hosted for me

 Kam at Will's first Birthday

Grandma Suzi and Grandpa Law had a great visit!

18 months... Kam's a big brother!

Kam is jabbering up a storm these days and probably has over 30 words.  some of his favorites are

eat, car, dog, keys, outside, no, peeeese (please),  Tank u (thank you), bubble, ball, cavado (avocado), staberrie (strawberry), milk, cheese, grahm cracker, jake (nick and kel's dog), baby, Go, ouch, chip, dip, mint (he loves icebreakers), eyes, toes, head, yogurt, pee, hot, cool, bye bye and of course mama and dada.  He even is beginning to put 2 words together like "i go" or  "milk pease"  and he tried to count saying "1, 2 go!" before he goes down the slide at the park.    he really is picking up new words everyday and tries to repeat everything we say!  

He still loves playing outside especially in our newly re-landscaped backyard thanks to Grandma Suzi and Grandpa Law!  :-)  

I turned 31 in March and Ken surprised me by flying in a my best friend Natalie for a weekend visit.  It was just what the doctor ordered!   WONDERFUL!

He loves to eat and I swear he eats all day.  But he must need the calories because he is non stop from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed.  He runs, climbs, laughs and constantly keeps us on our toes.   He recently learned out to climb on our tall barstools and that makes mommy very nervous.  Kam also climbs up on the bottom rail along the stove drawer, hanging on the top rail, pulling back and forth saying 'hot, hot hot'  that makes mommy and daddy crazy.   our entire house is baby proofed from inch to inch.  

As wild as he is, he's still a very loving baby.  He love to give kisses, blow kisses and will smile and wave to anyone we meet.   He is also quite the goofball!

He took his first swim lessons in Feburary.  He didn't love them as much as we thought he would but there were alot of kids of all different ages, and I think he was overwhelmed.    He whined most of the time we were there (for all 4 lessons).  we have taken him swimming since the lessons and he did actually learn a few things.   he knows how to blow bubbles, kick his feet, and get in and out of the pool on his own.  

He currently obsessed with "pee" and "poopie"  He hides when he is pooping or will cover his eyes if he thinks you are looking at us.   Sometimes he will even tell us "pee" if his is peeing or pooping in his diaper.    and if he sees you go into the bathroom he will follow you in there or will yell "PEEEE" from across the room if he can hear anyone peeing.  Haha.  given this new interest in pee and poop we have purchased a potty for him.   he will sit on it and 'flush it' but we haven't have any pee or poop in the potty yet.  we also haven't seriously tried it but just wanted him to get used to the idea peeing on the potty!   we're hoping he is potty trained before new baby  arrives....

By the way... did i mention kam is going to be a big brother?!   We found out in January we are pregnant again.   At 12 weeks they could already tell it was another boy - kam is going to be such a great big brother.  we just can't wait to see these 2 boys together.      We're due on Sept 16th so the boys will be almost 2 years apart and we pray they are the best of friends.

Kam continues to fill our hearts with love and joy everyday.  I just can't imagine what it is going to be like with 2 little rowdy boys running around.


UPDATE -   I'm updating this after the fact because there are several months in between my post but I wanted to include some of my favorite pictures from this spring.

Mom and Paul came to visit over Easter and we had a great time.  Mom and I visited the flower fields with Kam and got some great pictures.  We enjoyed time at the beach and the pool with Mom and Paul.  Ken and Paul also spent some quality time together at different breweries.

Here is a picture of me 5 months pregnant - another little boy on the way! :-) 

With the new baby on the way Kam is getting a big boy room - we are doing a nautical/surfer theme.  Every Cali boy needs a surfboard so we have officially purchased Kam's first surfboard.  Grandma Suiz is going to paint it up to hang it and decorate it for his room. 

 Mike visited and for a weekend and Kam warmed up to him very quickly.  Here's a great video of how fearless our wild man is!