Hayes' 2nd month and Evie turns 2

I feel like the leap from summer to winter came out of no where and we somehow totally skipped fall, which is super unfortunate because it's my favorite season. Nonetheless, here we are already less than a month away from Christmas, and I'm somehow the lucky mom to a spunky two year old and the sweetest, most handsome two month old baby boy.

Evie turned two on November 15, so we had a few friends over for brownies and ice cream. We started the day by filling her room and crib with a ton of balloons and then eating donuts. YUM! Evie only ate the sugary, icing part on top and left the rest on her plate, which she called "the bread." We had a bigger party for her the weekend before with family, and our little entertainer had a blast opening gifts, eating cupcakes and celebrating her special day with her grandparents, uncle and aunt.

I am continually amazed by the person Evie is becoming and feel so very blessed and proud to be her momma. She changed so much in just the past few months. Her vocabulary is fantastic. She's saying hundreds of words and stringing together sentences. She's really dramatic and loves to entertain. Some recent favorites include:

"That's so funny." (Everything is soooo funny.)
"I be right back." (She has to remind us just in case we forget about her or something I suppose.)
"I want....hmmm. How about..." (Contemplating what she wants to do or what she wants to eat.)
"Oh his feet so wittle." (Talking about Hayes' feet.)
"Wanna take a biteeee. It taste goooood." (Offering food to me.)

She adores her baby brother and always wants to know what he's doing. He's starting to notice her, too and will often flash her a big smile when she's talking to him or watch her as she plays. She loves "helping" mommy and daddy around the house. Puzzles, coloring and baby dolls are still some of her most enjoyed activities. She also loves hide and seek, but is the worst hider. It's fun (and sad) to think about how much she will learn and grow in the next year!

Hayesy-boy continues to grow at lightening speed. He's almost 12 pounds, 22 inches long and has been in 3 month clothes for the past few weeks. Even though he's only in the 25th percentile, he's a lot bigger than Evie was at this age. In fact, I went back and looked, and she didn't weigh this much until she was four months old!

This little boy totally melts my heart every time I look at him. He's starting to smile (and I don't mean the I just passed gas smile). We're talking oh hey mom Im looking at you and you make me happy smiles. He enjoys tummy time, diaper changes and belly rubs. He's also super snuggly and likes to nap on mommy and daddy during the day.

Sleep is hit or miss. But recently (knock on wood) has been pretty decent. He consistently is ready to go to sleep between 6 and 8 every night. We put him down in his swing and let him rock for a few hours before turning it off. This has been nice because Ryan and I are getting a few hours of down time in the evening with both kids in bed. He will snooze in there the first stretch of the night, anywhere between 4-7 hours. When he wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night I then move him to the rocker or our bed, in which case he usually wakes up once or twice more to nurse.

I've also been taking Hayes to a pediatric chiropractor and totally regret never doing this with Evie. Babies go through so much during the birth process, not to mention that they were totally scrunched up in the womb for 9 months.  The chiropractor has been gently working out any problem areas to help align Hayes' tiny body and correct any interferences to his nervous system. Since going Hayes has seemed a lot less fussy and way more content during the day! I'd totally recommend it to anyone with a newborn. 

Days are long. Weeks are short. Life is pretty crazy these days. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Snuggles for days 

Going to be tired of saying "Evie don't touch" after this Christmas

My loves...looks like Hayes is about to pound her in the head. 

My first little turned 2.... Please stay a baby forever. :(

becoming a family of 4 & Hayes is 1 month!

Hayes has been here 5 weeks now and we are slowly getting into a new rhythm as a family of 4. In many ways it has been an easier transition with the second baby than the first, probably largely due to the fact that we know what the heck we are doing this time.

The first few weeks were pretty tough, mainly because of Evie and all of the changes happening. She had a cast put on her broken tibia the Monday after Hayes was born. I wouldn't recommend having your toddler break a bone to anyone, and that is especially true when you also have a newborn. Lugging two kiddos around was not fun. Apart from the casted leg, she also was adjusting to sharing mommy time with new baby. I think we might have to work on this for a while, but she is getting better and more used to having Hayes around every day. Overall, I couldn't have been more proud of my girl those first few weeks. She handled her fractured leg like a trooper, gave baby brother more kisses than he could handle, and helped mommy with grabbing diapers, fetching my phone during nursing sessions and providing extra snuggles. I think the big sister role will suit her just fine.

Little Hayes is growing like a champ. At his one month appointment he weighed in at 9 pounds 10 oz, up 3 whole pounds from his three day check up and nearly 4 pounds from when we left the hospital. He's also 21 inches long, so overall about 25-30 percentile across the board. Not the smallest, not the biggest. Pretty typical of our kiddos.

Mommy has been calling him Hayesy-Poo or Hayesy-Boy and daddy isn't a fan. He likes to be snuggled. He picked up on nursing right away, and other than this painful case of mastitis that I am battling right now and a little overactive let down, breastfeeding has been going well.  He makes the cutest 'O' face when he is relaxed. He pees all over daddy during diaper changes and can reach pretty impressive distances (like the coffee table.) He does not like his carseat. He is our first baby to spit up pretty regularly, and him and I both typically smell like old milk. He has been rather fussy during certain parts of the day, but it seems to be related to gas and I've been tweaking my diet and working on milk flow in order to help. Overall, he is a very gentle, cuddly and chill baby when he's content.

Sleep at night is hit or miss. One night this week he went 5 straight hours, nursed, and then back down for another 3-- a pretty solid night of sleep for all of us! But other nights it is mainly 2 and 3 hour stretches with some lengthy wake up times in between. Ryan and I sleep with Hayes most nights in the playroom downstairs on our futon. Sounds crazy, but we honestly can't stand the idea of Evie waking up because its 100 times worse if she wakes up in the middle of the night than if Hayes does. We are hoping that once he is out of his newborn fussy phase we can get back to sleeping in our bed regularly. I think our necks and backs will thank us.

The best part about baby two is knowing everything is a phase. Even though everything is a little more difficult right now, it's reassuring to know that at the end of the day the crying, sleep depravation and insanity will pass (and lead to another new, challenging phase of course.)

On another note, Evie will be 2 in just a couple of weeks. She's such a fun girl these days and talks up a storm. Some favorite things she saying and doing include:

"Whatchu doin?
"I can do it."(Very independent)
"It's not dark outside" (Likes to make the correlation between bedtime and daytime.)
"Good nap" (A lot of the time this is the first thing she will say when I go into get her from a nap, or even first thing in the morning.)
"Mommy all done showering?" (Without fail, whenever I get out of the shower she yells this up the stairs, repeatedly.)
"What's dat?" (To everything)
"Daddy, take dat" (Telling Ryan to take Hayes from me when I hold him.)
Quoting anything and everything from Daniel Tiger. "Grrrific"
Singing ABCs, Daniel Tiger songs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jesus Loves me
Reading her children bible stories. She will go through every page asking, "Dat Jesus?"
"Thats so cute" when looking at Hayes' clothes or feet.
Hovering over Hayes and saying in a high pitched voice, "Awww, Hi baby. It's OK baby."
Loves: puzzles, reading Bible stories, Daniel Tiger, coloring and crafts, singing, helping with everything

Blue eyed boy, I love you so

Brave girl did great wearing her cast for 3 weeks!

Leg is better, time to play!

This face, I could stare all day. 

I think she's a lot like her daddy.

He's the sweetest

Welcoming Hayes: A Post by Ryan

Ryan is such a loving husband and father, but he is definitely not one to wear his emotions on his sleeves. Unless we have a baby, that is. If you've kept up with this blog at all then you remember this post from Ryan when Evie was born. Well apparently having babies inspires Ryan to write, and I was pleasantly surprised to find another reflection written by Ryan in my inbox a few days after Hayes was born. He definitely paints me to be a little too heroic than actuality, but I do appreciate is honest reflection of the day's events and the miracle that is childbirth. 

We welcomed our second child into the world yesterday. Hayes Ryan Ytterberg. He came two weeks early and caught us by surprise. I think I had just started mentally preparing for his arrival, luckily my wife had been preparing for months, as usual. She had all the bags backed, thought through all the details, though through what we were going to do with Evie, our two-year old and had narrowed down a list of potential names. I had been pretty unengaged up to this week. And then he came.

I am so thankful for my wife who though through all the details and had been planning for him. She’s a champ. I think we all have our strengths, and giving birth is definitely one of hers. Labor lasted all of 10 hours from the first contraction until birth. Active labor was only about 2 hours and she pushed for about 15 minutes. No drugs, just her and God’s grace. It’s incredible to watch a woman go through labor. The pain on her face, the physical toll, the mess, the muscle twitches, the determination. Why so hard?

Because that is how God ordained it. In Genesis 3:16 God told Eve that because of your sin, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” He wasn’t messing around. Kaitlyn told me after that at times during the contractions that she felt like she wanted to reason with God to just take her in that moment. The pain was too much to bear. But by God’s grace, she endured and out came one of the greatest blessings we can experience on earth, a child.

Kaitlyn couldn’t compare the euphoria that she experienced right after seeing the baby. The joy on her face, and mine, is incredible. And so worth all the pain (coming from Kaitlyn, not me of course). Immediately you fall in love and are blown away by his presence. How did this happen? How did this child form inside her belly and make its way out alive? How is he so perfect? And what is amazing too is how women are made for it and how God adapts them in this season to be the source of life for the baby. Coming out of labor, you would think the mother would be exhausted and unable to do a single thing more, but upon seeing the baby, the mother is filled with endorphins that give her the energy in that moment to then care for the newborn. More strength is found. And with the birth of the baby, she is now ready to produce milk to feed the baby. And the baby has the natural instinct to know how to nurse. And the process of nursing helps contract the uterus to aid in the healing process. It’s simply amazing how God has created women and orchestrated the process of childbirth.

Such a blessing. And no matter how hard the woman labors, how long it takes, how many complications there were, did she really work hard enough to warrant that blessing? Doesn’t the blessing far far out weigh the effort put in? Yes, there is the act of conception, the nine months of bodily and mental preparation and the agonizing process of birth, but could you really argue that all of that balances out the blessing that comes from childbirth?

And that’s the beauty of it. It’s not of our own selves or our own work that we earn the blessing of a child. It’s all God. He has orchestrated it all and given it to us as a blessing for us to enjoy. He ordained it to be painful as a reminder of our sin, a reminder of our rebellion against Him. Kaitlyn described it best when she said she wanted to plea with God to take her away. That’s what our sin brings about in us. The reality that we don’t deserve God’s blessing. We have rebelled against Him. We have chosen other gods before Him, often ourselves. We deserve the pains of childbirth constantly for how much we rebel. If only all of our sin had such pain accompanied to it, we might grasp the weight of it. In those moments when Kaitlyn wanted to give up, it reminds us of what our sin earns us. It earns us death.

And while those pains of childbirth remind us of our sin, it also gives us a glimpse of the pain Jesus experienced on the cross for our sin. He bore the penalty for all of our sin, not just physical pain, but separation from God. Separation from his father. He died. And he didn’t deserve it. But being God, he overcame death, paying the penalty for our sin. He died for our sin and then gives us his reward. We don’t deserve it. But in God’s grace, we can receive it.

Childbirth is a reminder of our sin and our failure to live up to the standards God sets out for us. And no matter how hard labor is, we don’t deserve the blessing that results from it. But in God’s grace we can receive it, love it and enjoy it.

A famous theologian Archibald Alexander said that "There is no more important event, which occurs in our world, than the new birth of an immortal soul.” And this can only occur when we receive, love and enjoy the reward that Jesus earned for us on the cross.

Introducing Hayes Ryan: His Birth Story

Sadly I'm introducing the newest member of our family an entire month after his birth. But let's be real, I haven't had much time to sit at my computer these days (or shower or eat or do anything other than change diapers and wipe spit up off my shirt...the same shirt I've been wearing for three days.)

Nonetheless, Ryan and I are SO excited to announce that we were blessed with the most unexpected surprise on Wednesday, September 24. Little Hayes Ryan decided to make his debut a few days shy of 38 weeks gestation- certainly not when we were expecting to meet him, but definitely the perfect day to make his swift entrance into the world.

I could ramble on all day about both of my births, and so that said, I compiled a rough story of Hayes' birth day.

prepping for the birth day

Oh, this pregnancy has flown. I think the combination of it not being my first baby as well as having a toddler to chase after has helped the time pass much faster than it did when I was pregnant with Evie. During my first pregnancy I remember thinking time couldn't possibly go slower as we approached my due date. And this time, it feels like I can barely get our bags packed for the hospital, probably because they still aren't completely ready at 37 weeks!

Baby boy was head down at my last three appointments, which is fantastic news since Evie was breech from about 32 weeks until 37 weeks. As a result of his position though, I've been getting a lot kicks to my ribs. He just feels bigger in general than Evie did, but who knows, could also be his position.

I've had some Braxton Hicks, but nothing crazy. I think I actually had more of them with Evie. Evie and I try to walk a mile or two almost every day, and if I am lucky I squeeze in a trip to the gym once a week for some type of cardio. I've definitely been noticing my physical limitations lately though as a result of my rapidly growing belly and the final weeks of pregnancy.

Let's see, if the notes from my first pregnancy are accurate, then I weigh about 4-5 pounds more with this baby than I did with Evie at this point in the pregnancy. Again, not that surprised as I feel like baby boy is a bit bigger. Or maybe it's the Nutella I have on a daily basis.

Sleeping is becoming more challenging. Between having trouble falling asleep because my mind is racing through my 20 check lists, having to get up to pee 2-3 times a night, and some really wild dreams, I've been tossing and turning most nights. I think this must be God's way of preparing mom's for newborn sleep patterns and nighttime feedings.

Evie is now 22 months old and "enjoying" her last days as an only child. I've been trying to snuggle, kiss and love on her more these past few weeks knowing just "mommy and Evie" time won't be as readily available once the baby arrives. I've so enjoyed the special time Evie and I have had together for the past two years and wouldn't trade it for the world. It's weird to think she will never remember life without a baby brother. Some days I do think she knows her world is about to flip flop. She's been super clingy for mommy lately and just more affectionate overall. She also now says, "I wuv you Mommy" and "I wuv you, Daddy," which can I just say is the best sound in the world.

In preparation for the upcoming arrival of our son, I've been trying to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare for the birth and first days weeks months with a newborn. I think my doula hit it on the nose when she said during the first pregnancy we fear the unknown. During the second, we fear the known. In some ways preparing for baby two has been easier because I know just what I need to take to the hospital. I know (generally speaking) what to expect in terms of labor. Breastfeeding will be more familiar this time. And most importantly, I know that once I'm holding our new baby in my arms, all the pregnancy symptoms, preparation and laboring will have been totally worth it.

I have to brag on Ryan a little because he has honestly been such a trooper these past few months. I went into crazy "gear up for baby" mode around 30 weeks, and without complaining even a little he's jumped into every project I have handed him. He's painted rooms, finished furniture, hung a million things on the walls and still manages to fix and maintain all other aspects of our house and yard while working a 40+ hour job every week. I don't know what I did to deserve this guy, but I do know that I am the luckiest.

As we eagerly await little man's debut, I'm trying not to overthink everything or allows lists to consume my daily to-do's. I think we finally might be able to sit back, relax and just wait for the most part now!

And lastly, here are a few photos from the last month or so, sadly all coming from my iPhone. Next post just might be an introduction to the newest member of our family!

Evie loves ketchup, or "chep-up" as she likes to call it on EVERYTHING.

I'm so glad it's finally fall so Evie can start wearing these boots!

The park up the street had a small petting farm about a month ago. Evie wasn't too sure about this guy.

Like last pregnancy, Ryan has been collecting my favorite pumpkin beers to enjoy after the baby comes! 

This girl is too funny at breakfast time. 

Matching Bears jerseys thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Ytterberg! Ryan even has her saying "Go Bears."Proud daddy right there. 

Although a little nervous about a trip "far" from home so close to the due date, Ryan and I traveled for an evening to Louisville to watch two of our closest friends from college say "I do" this weekend.

The beautiful bride and one of my dearest friends. 

Most of these guys all lived with Ryan in college at some point and were also some of our closest friends. It was fun to catch up with them at the wedding after so much time had passed (for some 5 years!) It felt good to laugh so hard I cried while telling old stories from MU. 

21 months and 32 weeks

Time is passing by at lightning speed it seems. Here I am just two months out from my due date and Evie at 21 months is quickly approaching the BIG T-W-O!

Pregnancy, thus far, really has been a breeze (minus a little blood sugar hiccup which turned out to be nothing, luckily, because I wasn't quite ready to give up my weekly ice cream and daily bites of Nutella). Baby boy moves a lot at night like his sister did. I can actually feel him up in my ribs this pregnancy, which I never ever experienced with Evie. It's not painful (at least not yet anyway). I talked to my doula about it and she explained that with Evie she was just sitting there quite low on my hips. The way I carried her probably had a lot to do with my excruciating back labor. But this time around since my body has already gone through the birthing process I am able to carry him more normally, hence the reason I feel him so much higher. In other words, I think she was trying to tell me baby boy has more room in there since Evie stretched everything out the first go around. Yay!

Other things about this pregnancy: I'm waking up several times through the night, not only just to relieve my bladder, but for no apparent reason. My belly button comes out at the end of the day which is super weird and never happened with Evie.

In preparation for the baby we've been working to get a nursery together for him while also re-doing Evie's room. Something tells me these next few months are going to come and go much faster than my to-do list can handle. To be honest though, nothing could be as stressful as when we moved into our new house when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Evie, and for that I am grateful.

Evie has me laughing so much these days. She says the silliest things and is really becoming a great communicator.  Her one word responses are now two and even three word phrases. For example, she thinks she is "you." I guess I can understand this confusion. After all, we frequently say things to her like, "It's for you!" or "Where are you?," or "I love you" So her favorite game is hiding from us and then we pretend she's in all these different spots before we "find her." While we are searching and she's hiding she will yell, "Are youuuu? Finddddd youuuu." That actually means: "Where am I? Find me."

Some other favorite Evie phrases include:

Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy. Hi Ah-vie. (Evie)

All fall down.  (And then throws herself to floor in reference to Ring Around the Rosie)

Oh no flew away. (Nothing ever runs aways. Bunnies, squirrels, dogs, birds. They all flew away.)

Hold you. (Again with the you confusion. She really means hold me.)

Dank you. Welcome. (She both thanks me and you usually replies your welcome for me before I can answer.)

Mommy wif you. (Mommy come with me)

Tickle you. Hug you. Kisses. (Her new phrase at the end of day when I tell her daddy is on his way home).

She also finally plummeted out of her crib, a noise I am really OK with never hearing again. Even with the toddler bed set up in her room, I still don't feel like she (or I for that matter) am ready to take on the huge task of helping her adjust to a new bed just a couple of months before the baby arrives. So instead, to prevent any future escapes, we took the entire frame out of the crib and just put the mattress on the floor. I don't think she will be able to climb out now until she's at least 9 or 10. ;)

And finally some pics from the last month....

An Evie Update

It's been a while since I sat down to write out all the fun (and not so fun) things Evie is up to lately. She's changing all the time. I wrote part of this blog about two weeks ago, and already I noticed some of it needed updated.

In the last few months we've seen a huge change in vocabulary. She went from being able to say 10-15 words to basically repeating everything we say.

Some frequent words include:  airpane (air plane), puh-ole (puzzle), oatmeal, milk, car, ca-or (color), sit, milk, peas (please), dank you (thank you), poop, da-ee (daddy), mum (mom), cuddle, boo boo, Elmo

And the list goes on.

She also likes to say things are stinky, that bugs are yucky and scream HELP for us when she wants us to play with her. If she gets a bite of something to eat that she really likes, she will say "mmm good." She likes to say that her dolls or stuffed animals pooped and then tell me to "check."

Latest obsessions: puzzles, coloring (she wants to color alllll the time), stars (literally says "shtar" a hundred times a day and wants me to draw them), buses (mainly the wheels on the bus song and book, but also real buses when we are out and about), the driver on the bus (from the song, in which she yells "moo back!"aka "Move on Back"), Elmo, washing our hands, eating oatmeal, kissing boo boos, helping daddy (whenever Ryan is working on a house project, Evie becomes so involved, bringing him every single tool/screw/paper that is on the floor and saying "here go")

Dislikes: Nursery at church (screams the minute we pull in the parking lot), diaper changes, getting dressed, going to bed, really any time that she doesn't get what she wants

Other things: Evie hasn't fallen out yet, but we are pretty sure she would climb right out of her crib if we didn't see it on the monitor and run in to stop her. We went ahead and bought a toddler bed and put it in her room to get her familiar with the idea. We turned her car seat forward facing right around 19 months, and she seems to enjoy the ride a little more. She went through a two week period of inconsolable crying at night right around the time she figured out how to get out of crib. Needless to say we were all pretty tired. She continues to be a picky eater, with some days being great and others a battle to get anything but pretzels and granola bars down.

Right at 18 months Evie stopped nursing. We had been nursing only at bed time for a few months, but it got to a point where I felt like she could take it or leave it. It was also becoming somewhat uncomfortable with me being pregnant. I am so very grateful for such a wonderful breastfeeding experience and many sweet, sweet memories with my girl. Breastfeeding was so much more than I ever expected it to be and something I have become quite passionate about. And although it was somewhat emotional to finally call it quits, I know Evie and I were both ready.

Evie continues to have a mighty personality. She doesn't take no very well and puts up a fight when things aren't going her way. It's been a struggle figuring out how to set boundaries with her and help her understand why we said no. I think it's starting to sink in because after she realizes that I am disappointed with her, she says "hug and kiss" so we do...it's so sweet. She also tries to weasel her way out of things. Like at bed time when she knows we are heading upstairs, she all of sudden needs milk and wants to do a puzzle. Nice try, kid.

We're in another difficult sleep stage with Evie. She won't go to sleep without Ryan or I in the room and she takes forever to fall asleep. She's also waking up in the middle of the night, and because she can climb out of crib we have to go into her room, lay down next to her crib and then wait for her to go back to sleep which can sometimes take an hour. This is about ZERO fun at 2 in the morning.

This age is a blast, but it definitely has had some challenges, mainly figuring out how to best correct and redirect Evie when she disobeys, hits, throws, or whatever else she gets into. Overall she's a super smart, affectionate and adventurous little girl with a big personality. Big sister is going to suit her well. We love her to pieces.

And finally....some pics to sum up our last few months.....


Trip to Chicago & Bethany Beach over the 4th of July Weekend

A lot of playing outside and at the park