Baking Pepparkakor

4 Weeks Old

Jakob had his one month old doctor's visit today.
He weighed in at a whooping 11 lbs. 3.5 ounces. I compared it to Anders one month check up and Anders weighed in at 11 lbs. 4 ounces. Almost identical.
Their heights were also identical at 21 and 3/4 inches. Both boys will be tall.


The doctor said Jakob was great. He recommended Anna stay off dairy for 4 days and then go to Ben & Jerry's for a big ice cream....see how Kuba reacts and if it's bad, we know he's sensitive to dairy. Anna's really looking forward to the ice cream....all I can think about is the bouncing and walking we'll be doing afterwards.

Tonight is another good night for Kuba. He was alert and squawking for a couple of hours and I read some real thrilling books to him and then crashed about 20 minutes ago. He is now sleeping in his crib. (That is why I have a minute here to do a blog entry.)

Anna and Anders are downstairs making Swedish Pepparkakor - or in layman's terms, gingerbread cookies. I took a ton of photo's of Anders speckled with flour. Keep your eye out for that.

Oh Boy oh boy

Oh boy is all I can say. Jakob has been fussy. I'm not quite ready to say "colic," but just imagine the word and what it signifies, and that is enough to paint the picture of how it has been here in the evenings.

But, there is a God after all. It is now almost 10 pm and tonight Jakob has been quiet. Anna hasn't eaten any dairy, onions, garlic, cruciferous veggies, or had coffee for 2 whole days. We also have been trying a few homeopathic remedies and belladonna might have done the trick...or it's the dietary switch. All I know is that I feel a little more sane tonight myself.

Have I mentioned I am neurotic around baby illnesses? Yes I am. Quite the nutjob. I immediately get anxious and fearful and go right to death. Even if it's just a goopy eye. SO, I have been all upset, exhausted, worried, and desperate. Doesn't that sound pleasant! Doesn't that sound like the kind of mother you want bouncing and soothing her crying newborn?

Jakob goes to the pediatrician tomorrow for his one month check up (can you even believe that!) and Anna will be asking all sorts of questions related to baby gas, baby spit-up, and baby crying. I told Anna the other night, that if Iwas crying as hard as Jakob was, I would be at the emergency room. Luckily his crying only lasted a few hours at the most and just in the evenings. And so far tonight, not at all. Keep your fingers crossed. Toes too.

SO, what's it like to be a mom of 2, and a bit too old, a bit too sleep deprived, and a bit too busy now that I am back to teaching full time? Hard. Just a bit hard these days.

Oh, but of course that is just my perspective. Anna, oh brilliant incredible mother that she is, is of course, fine. She has handled her first 3 days at home with me back at work with ease. Today she even went shopping for a new pair of jeans! And found a pair. I swear, she is bionic. Really.

Heading into the Holiday

Well, here it is, Tuesday and I am home all week from work. No school! I can't tell you how happy that makes me. This is my last week off until the Christmas break, and then I will have off for 6 whole weeks!

I am nervous for Anna next week when she begins life at home alone with 2 boys.

I couldn't do it.

No way, not yet.

Anders has been waking up at the crack of dawn, actually even before dawn, and raring to go at 5:30 in the morning. This was the first morning I was able to talk him into going back to sleep until 8. I felt triumphant and we all got a little more sleep. In fact, I think I had the best nights sleep than I have had in ages.
Normally, I am up with him for a few hours before Anna heads down.
What will she do? I leave for work at 6:30! I think it will be an interesting transition.....and I am slightly worried....more on that as it unravels.

I do think Anna and I are pretty well, even though we take turns being irritable and grumpy - soley due to sleep deprivation, and an entirely new life....life with 2 boys. I had one day where I was in a panic over everything. I wish I was a good writer and I could really describe the way life justs shifts paradigms. One day a whole life, next day it's gone forever and a new life slips in it's place. It was the same kind of thing when Anders was born....and this time it is the exact same profound change. The life we had with the 3 of us, the way we spent time, related, set up routines, etc. gone. It simply vanished.
And now the big job of creating a new rhythm for all of us.

I think it is going to take a little time.
Yes, I remember that the first time around.

2 Moms 2 Boys 2 Weeks

This is my first rattle about how it is going so far with Anders and Jakob. Hmmmm....where to begin?

Jakob has been a dreamy baby so far. Sleeps well, eats well, has some quiet alert moments, and an occasional really bad bout of gas. He has passed his birth weight of 8 lbs. 11 ounces and this week weighed in at a whooping 9 lbs. 10 ounces. The doctor was pleased to say the least. I of course was bursting with the same dopey pride I had about Anders.

Anders has also been doing remarkably well with the whole transition. He's been idylic with his baby brother, which he now calls "Kubi." He likes to hold him and talk to him - and then he forgets he's around and just gets into his own play mode. He still gets a ton of attention from us, so in some ways I think that eases some of the transtion. However, he did wake up crying last night at 2:30 in the morning, wanting Anna to hold him.

Anna, wow. She is feeling great and has been up and around almost from the getgo. She is doing a fantastic job of taking care of herself and Jakob and Anders.

I however, well, let's just say I feel like a mack truck has rolled over me. I had to go to work this week, and put up and tear down an art show at school, all in a matter of 3 days. I also had to prepare yet more sub plans. My left eye lid is all swollen, my right knee hurts, my left shoulder aches, and there you have it....me in a nut shell. I have had intermittent sleep for weeks now, and I just simply want 8 hours. I did manage to take a nap today thank god.

Okay, there you have it. Life in a nutshell.

Christening the Blog!

Here it is folks, the official blog change over. Now that we have two boys, I can't really call the blog Life with Anders anymore, now, can I? SO, it was suggested by my good friend Carol, that I change it to be Life with Anders and Jakob. Sounds good to me....let's see how it looks!

You can still view the old blog still at www.lifewithanders.blogspot.com.

New Blog Site

 If you visit my blog, please add this new blog address to your favorites list.

I started a new blog for both Anders and Jakob.

http://www.lifewithandersandjakob.blogspot.com/

Check it out.  

The Birth of a Name

The birth of a name is sometimes complex, and sometimes serendipitous.  

Here is the story behind Jakob's name:

Anders was named after Anna's dad, Bjorn.  We chose Bjorn for Anders middle name.  Because Anna's dad is Swedish we felt this very Swedish first and middle name was perfect for him.

Jakob is named after my father, Leonard.  My father is Polish, and we wanted both of the babies first and middle names to be Polish too.   We searched and searched for a first name that we liked, but pretty much came up with nothing, unless Lech or Stanislaus sounds good to you.   

Then serendipitously at Anna's doctor's appointment mid pregnancy, the nurse who worked with her just happened to be from Poland.  Anna asked her about good Polish boy's names, and she laughed out loud.  She said many were not translatable here in the USA. (we had sort of already figured that out!) Then she told us her favorite boys name, which was Jakub, Kuba for short.  Of course, that became the immediate nickname for the baby...baby Kuba.  Anders has been calling him Kuba for months.

So the name Jakub rose to the top of the name list.  Still, we continued to search bringing a list with us to the hospital.  Felix, Soren, and Tobias (none of which are Polish) were on the list, as were Marek, which is a second Polish name.  

In the end, after meeting the baby, we decided Jakob Leonard was the perfect name for this little fella.  And there you have it, the birth of a name.  

Oh, and you can call him Kuba if you want to....or even sweeter than that, how about sugar KUB. 

Jakob's Quilt

 

This is our little guy at 5 days old.  This is pure bliss!

Grandpa and Grandma

 

How lucky we are that we have been able to spend the first week of Jakob's life with his grandpa and grandma.   Here they are proudly holding their little Kuba.  

My Little Brother is Here!

 

He's here, he's here!!!
Welcome Jakob Leonard

11/02/07

8 lbs. 11 oz.