Grr!

I'm annoyed. Maybe it's my limited knowledge of all things technical (especially computers), or maybe it's that Blogger has a plan to force me to stop adding content to Zesty, but either way, I'm close to throwing in the towel again.

Why can't I get my format kinks ironed out? This design/posting process used to be quite simple, in my opinion.

So, anyone have any quick and easy "You need to do this" advice to share?

And Baby Makes Four

It's been such a joy having a baby in the house again! There are other emotions, of course, such as exhaustion, frustration, and the occasional suffocating feeling of being overwhelmed. (By the way, I cannot imagine what it must be like to have multiple babies at once. The people who manage this feat have my utmost respect.)

Gannon completes our little family. After the complications we had attempting to expand to a household of four, we're counting our blessings, surely. Our newest member came with a few quirks, though, and they've really kept me on my toes!

First, this little guy was face up during a majority of my labor. That, combined with the fact that we knew he was going to be a hefty little guy, made us realize that a natural birth may not be possible. After some shoving and coaxing by my midwife, and my body's innate ability to correct the issue, Gannon finally turned as he descended down the birth canal (thankfully!).

After we were discharged from the hospital, we struggled mightily with breastfeeding. Avery had been a champion at nursing, so these feeding problems with Gannon were stressful and completely foreign to me. After approximately eight days of attempts - some successful, most not - I remembered a segment I had read in one of the breastfeeding books the hospital had given us. It turns out Gannon was tongue tied! I spoke to the pediatrician on call (Who assured me that even if Gannon was tongue tied, she had only recommended that three cases in her 27 years of practice be surgically fixed, therefore she doubted the problem with nursing was due to his tongue. She told me that most likely our problems were because of poor nursing positions and all we would require was more education on proper latching techniques.). Monday morning I called to set up an appointment with this physician (Not because I liked her, mind you, but because I knew our problems were going to prove her over-the-phone diagnosis wrong. And I love a chance to prove I'm right!).

So, to make a really long story slightly shorter, we saw the physician later that week. She recommended we see one of their lactation consultants to have a latch evaluation, and by Thursday we were seeing an ENT specialist to have a lingual frenectomy.

My breast pump and I are no longer best friends, and I can't tell you how happy that makes me. And if the rate of growth of this boy is any indication, we're definitely doing a good job. My two-month-old snuggle bug is currently wearing 6 month size clothing, and I'm lucky if I get two wearings out of any given outfit. Thank goodness for second-hand stores that take gently used children's clothing!

Now I can say that the only challenges we're dealing with in the Weatherby household regularly are that the dog decides he needs to go out at the exact moment that I sit down to feed Gannon, Avery has to have a refill of juice or milk while I'm changing a diaper or bathing his brother, and Gannon decides to fuss while I'm playing with the dog and/or Avery. I've also become much more respectful of single parents; how on earth does one take an infant and a preschooler out on their own? The person who invented the shopping carts with the plastic seats geared for older kids have my complete admiration. And although I vowed I'd never use one, I found myself breaking down and purchasing one of those backpack-leash doodads to keep my misbehaving older child next to me while we're out and about without Matt. I discovered I'd rather deal with the incredulous looks and embarassment at using it than abandoning my infant so I can go chase after his brother.

These little hurdles make me sigh with contentment (and exhaustion) at the end of the day, though. I am a happy woman, indeed.

So Much to Say!

My goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? I have a number of posts planned just to update you on all that's changed in recent months. First, though, I have to tell you about my newest love.

His name is Gannon Russell. He came into this world kicking and screaming on October 21st of this year. I'll spare you from the labor and delivery play-by-play, but let's just say it was miraculously short (painful as all hell, of course, but short!). After twelve minutes of pushing, out came this nine pound, seven ounce bundle.















Thankfully, his older brother decided a couple months before his arrival that it would be ok to have a little brother (Phew!). Avery has been excited and helpful, sometimes bordering on overzealous. I've decided, however, that I'd much rather have that than deal with an older son who despises his sibling.

I've got loads more to say about this little guy and the chaos he's added to our little family, but for now, I think I'll let some photos do the talking.

The Sky Over Fargo/Moorhead on 7/5/10

Did you see it for yourself? It was gorgeous! And for once I thought to grab my camera. Just in case you missed it, let me fill you in:

Still nothing creative or juicy to report. Maybe if I remember to strap my camera around my neck more frequently I'll become a little more inspired. We'll see.

A Trial Separation

Oh, don't worry, it's nothing quite as dramatic as the title promises.

I'm just finding that this space doesn't call my name as often as it used to. I feel a bit guilty for only having newsy updates...and nothing really juicy and creative for you. So I think a little time away is just what I need. Hopefully, after my "trial separation," I'll feel a renewed spark and return with all sorts of interesting bits of my life to share.

Farewell for now.

We'll be having a new baby........

BOY!

Yep, my feelings were nothing more than some wishful thinking, apparently! However, I must say that after learning the gender of our newest family member, I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, really, don't I add enough drama to this Weatherby clan as it is?

Don't answer that. Let's just bask in the happy light of knowing that every little ounce and milimeter of this little guy appears to be healthy, according to the sonogram tech and her measurements.

Okay, here's the exciting part:

Names!

After lots of cool-for-a-minute notions, we've narrowed our list down to two possibilities:

*Ian Russell (Matt's favorite)

*Gannon Russell (My favorite...although I'm quite fond of Ian, also.)

Russell is Matthew's middle name, and his father's first name. Avery has my dad's first name for his middle one, so we always knew if we had another boy we'd follow suit with the other side of the family. And while we were still deliberating girl names, we were considering Matt's mother's name, Alayne (or a form of that name), for either a first name or middle name, should we have a daughter.

We're considering waiting until we meet this little boy to decide which name fits him best. Honestly, though, I've already been trying Gannon out, making sure it's something Avery can pronounce (he still has trouble with R's and L's...and I wasn't positive he'd be able to spit it out...but he can! Yay! One point for Mama's name - we're ignoring the fact that Ian is even easier to say than Gannon, by the way.).

That's about it for Weatherby news currently.

We hope the sun is shining down on you.

For now...

This week has been full of everything from sadness to joy.

A friend, Erin, from college just lost her younger (and only) brother to suicide. So final...and such a terrible, tragic loss. The one slightly bright side is that through this tragedy, our little circle of girls will be reuniting to support Erin at the prayer service tomorrow evening.

Avery attended his first buddy birthday party on Sunday. The birthday boy's family rented an inflatable Mickey Mouse play center that was comparable in size to my first apartment. Oh, what fun they had! Mama even climbed in to jump with the kids! Somehow my camera has been absent from my arms over the last few months...I'm regretting that more and more every day.

Matt's parents arrive Thursday evening for a visit. We've all tried to live healthier in the last 4-6 months, and the proof is clearly visible in Matt and his parents (I, on the other hand, just seem to grow, grow, grow!). Saturday they will test themselves at Fargo's marathon...though they will only be taking on the 10 K.

Eek! I still have carpets to steam clean, bed linens to freshen, bathrooms to scrub, and a kitchen to organize before they arrive!

So, this little snippet of an update will have to do until I get this laundry list of chores finished.

Ah crap - nearly forgot about the laundry...Better get moving!