enssle family

Smiles

Just a quick note to let folks know I just posted some new photos on the Flickr site, including a short movie of Mr. Noah smiling!

Oh, and Anna’s been doing just great with her new cast (which is very, very pink!). Seriously. We’re all amazed at her positive attitude and she’s getting some really good therapy done. Her new therapist said that the cast might just make it all simpler for her, in a way, by removing the constant conflict in her mind about which hand to use for each and every task.

03/7/09 6:21 AM at 06:21am Neal Babies  Family  Milestones  Movies  Photos  

Almost 7 weeks!

So it has been awhile since we last posted. Pretty much everyone in the house has been sick! Anna had a suspected case of pneumonia and Neal, Noah and I have had colds. We’ve been using hand sanitizer like crazy, but I’m not sure how effective it is when the preschooler is running around sneezing and coughing on everyone and everything. Anna has yet another cold that has turned her into a sloppy, runny-nosed, weepy-eyed monster. I feel so badly for her, but the whining does grate on the nerves after awhile. She’s so generously passed this most recent cold on to her father, who is battling it with copious amounts of vitamin c and coldeeze lozenges.

We took Noah in to the doctor shortly after his 5-week milestone to make sure that his cold hadn’t turned into something more serious (namely, pneumonia). He weighed in at 11 lbs. 13 oz! Looking at him, it is hard to believe he is only 7 weeks old. He’s now wearing some 3-6 month clothing! Anyway, his cold hadn’t turned into anything more serious, but it certainly has proved to be long-lived. He still has a stuffy nose 2 weeks later!

We’re starting another round of intensive constraint therapy for Anna this week. Starting today we’ll be wearing a cast on her right arm to encourage her to use her left. I know it sounds strange to say it, but we are actually looking forward to this session, as Anna’s been more and more stubborn about using her left hand. We think she is in need of a “cognitive reset” that the casting seems to provide. Unfortunately, she’ll be casted on her birthday again this year (we were in Alabama last year at this time).

Speaking of birthdays, Anna will be 3 this month! It is so hard for me to believe that 3 years have passed since she was born. Lately we’ve been looking at lots of pictures and videos of when Anna was Noah’s age (Anna’s been curious about what she was like when she was a baby), and that has been a true walk down memory lane. With her third birthday comes the end of our early intervention home therapy services. She’ll be receiving therapy through the school district now, and starts at our neighborhood preschool two days after her birthday. We’re hoping that she fits in there and enjoys her two mornings per week.

Other than those developments, things are pretty “normal” (if you call having zero control and limited sleep “normal”). We’re learned a few things:

1. You can sleep just about anywhere, and do so on a near nightly basis.
2. You can sleep through just about anything if you are tired enough.
3. You cannot please everyone all the time, so please the one that is screaming the loudest first.
4. Bouncy seats, swings, and anything else that keep the baby quiet and sleeping are gifts from God.
5. Changing diapers doesn’t seem nearly as critical and urgent for the second child as it did for the first.

We hope to post some pictures and videos in the near future. Noah is actually smiling now, which is such a joy to see.

03/4/09 2:12 PM at 02:12pm Tara Babies  Children  Family  Health  Milestones  Parenting   1 comment

Three weeks

Mr. Noah is now just past his three-week-iversary.  Doing well, doing all the things you’d expect a three-week-old boy to do (eating, pooping, having gas pains, sleeping during the day mostly and mostly not during the night, et cetera). I’ve just posted some new photos, including some from his first bath (!).

Tara and I are starting to get into a bit of a rhythm? Maybe? Well, okay maybe not. It’ll take awhile, I think. Thrice-weekly contributions of yummy delicious food from my co-workers are indeed helping, however. We weren’t great about cooking during the week with just one child, and with two it’s proving even more challenging. (Thanks Foraker!)

Meanwhile: I can’t believe I’m sick again? Not. Fair.

02/8/09 6:15 AM at 06:15am Neal Babies  Family  Photos  

All alone with our bad selves

So Debbie left for home and hearth in Kansas on Thursday, leaving us all alone! Sniff!

It’s definitely been a bit of a challenge, trying to coordinate all the demands of a new baby with the needs and wants of a very demanding almost-three-year-old.  Tara’s spent the last two days at home with both of them, and it’s been a little hard.  But she’s learning.  She says the trick is that you just have get over the fact that there will be moments when one of them (and sometimes both of them) are just going to be upset and screaming about the lack of immediate attention. Obviously, I’m completely terrified of the day when I’ll have to manage both of the little buggers all alone myself!

Work for me has been a challenge too, mainly because of the sleep deprivation. Anna’s been up in the middle of the night for at least an hour or two every night since we brought Noah home. She’s caught a new cold, and I’m taking her in to the doctor this morning to get her ears checked since an ear infection is often the culprit when she’s up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. That being said, we’re also willing to admit that it might just be a combination of a cold + the psychological impact of the new baby that’s making sleep even more of a scarce commodity that usual.

Thanks to Debbie and the folks at work, though, for helping to keep our freezer stocked with food.  Not having to worry so much about what’s for dinner is a godsend, since it’s probably going to take us awhile to figure out a new rhythm!

01/31/09 7:46 AM at 07:46am Neal Babies  Children  Family  Health  Parenting   2 comments

Back to work

Well, it’s back to work for me today. Boo. I’m really not sure I’m ready. I know Tara’s not ready for me to head back. But duty calls. We’ll have to see how things work with me running on only about four hours of sleep each night…

Meanwhile: Noah’s doing well. Working on getting his days and nights straight, but otherwise just doing the usual new baby things (i.e. sleeping, eating, eating, awake for 15 minutes, sleeping, eating, pooping, sleeping, eating, etc.). There are some new photos up on the Flickr site.

It was too snowy yesterday for us to get to Anna’s physical therapy appointment in the morning, and the riding center cancelled her hippotherapy because it was too cold (apparently even horses don’t like 7 degree weather!). So we spent the day hanging out with family.

Debbie’s been cooking up a storm before she leaves on Thursday, trying to stock our freezer. And the good folks at Foraker are chipping in too — at this rate we won’t have to cook anything until mid-March or so. Which is awesome, and for which we are exceedingly grateful!

Okay. Time for a quick nap before I have to hop in the shower and get ready to get Ms. Anna up and moving and off to daycare before I head in to work.

01/27/09 5:34 AM at 05:34am Neal Babies  Family  Photos  

New videos

I just posted some videos on the Flickr site. Three short clips showing Anna riding Bailey the horse at her hippotherapy sessions at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. She does so very well and has such fun! Dad’s going to have to buy her a pony someday soon…

The last video is of Anna singing to her baby brother and dancing along to Elizabeth Mitchell’s rendition of “Three Little Birds” (the video is somewhat grainy ’cause it’s dark in the room). Extremely cute!

01/24/09 8:19 AM at 08:19am Neal Adventures  Babies  Children  Movies   2 comments

New photos

I just posted a bunch of photos from way back in November and December.  Good shots of folks at Christmases in both Kansas and Colorado.

There are also some new photos of Mr. Noah. You can always view Noah-specific photos on Flickr in his own, personal photo set.

Everyone here is doing well enough. Tara and I are splitting shifts and so far have managed to be able to do a good job of alternating really bad nights.

Oh, and Granny Debbie and Tara painted Anna’s room pink today (I got carpet cleaning duty). We thought she’d lose her mind with joy at the “pinkalicious-ness” of it all. Instead: “Hmmm. Hmmm. I’m… I’m really hungry. Can I have a treat?”

So much for trying to make the toddler happy!?

01/23/09 9:00 PM at 09:00pm Neal Babies  Family  Parenting  Photos  

Clean bill of health

We took Noah to the doctor yesterday. He was doing so well that the doctor decided she didn’t need to see him until he was two months old! He’s regained all the weight he lost after birth, and have even gained an ounce!

Neal and I have worked out a “divide and conquer” strategy to deal with the newborn’s sleep schedule. I have first shift and Neal takes over after 2am. That seems to be working great where Noah is concerned. Now it seems we are having a bit of a problem with Ms. Anna’s sleep schedule. Last night she was up for about 3 hours in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. She needed some water, she needed to go potty, she was playing with her stuffed animals. You name it, if it didn’t involve sleeping, she was doing it. Hopefully tonight will be a better night…

Anna has started her hippotherapy, and has been doing great! We are working with her current physical therapist at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. She’s ridden three times so far, and has had such a great time. We have some pictures of Anna riding her horse – we need to post them (Update: Here they are! Movies to follow soon!). She looks so tiny on the horse! Her therapist has her riding backwards, sideways, with no hands, etc. It is really great to watch her succeed.

We want to point out how thankful we are for Granny Debbie’s help!! She’s been an invaluable help during these chaotic times. She’s been cleaning, doing laundry, watching the babe while I take a shower, consoling the crying baby, etc. etc. Thank you, Mom!!

01/22/09 4:05 PM at 04:05pm Tara Family  

Up all night, sleep all day?

Well, it’s been a very rough couple of days for mom and dad. Noah’s doing just fine, but seems to get most fussy right around the time we manage to get Anna (quite fussy herself) down to sleep at night. Long story short: I don’t think either of us has gotten more than three or four hours of sleep the last two nights.

Which would be okay, probably, if we didn’t have to keep up with the toddler and could sleep the day away with the boy…

01/19/09 6:59 AM at 06:59am Neal Babies  Family   2 comments

Home again

It’s really good to be home.  Per expectations, the doctor gave Tara and Noah their final checkup and cleared us all to go home by mid-morning. By lunchtime we were back at home, where Granny and Anna had just finished making “Welcome home!” signs for Noah and “pinkalicious” cupcakes for the “big sister party” we’d planned for Ms. Rose.

Everyone’s doing well. Noah’s still spending the vast majority of his time sleeping (as is only right and good!). Anna is as enthusiastic about her baby brother as you could expect an almost-three-year-old to be (“he’s a real baby!”). Max greeted the newcomer with reasonable interest and has spent most of the afternoon upstairs hanging out with all of us (compare to Anna’s arrival, when he hid in the basement for about a week). And Granny’s been a superstar, handling most of the cooking and cleaning.

We’re off to bed soon.  We’ll see how our first night all together goes — here’s hoping we manage to get a little more sleep than we did at the hospital.

But it’s good to be home.

Note: I just posted the day’s photos on our Flickr site, including a pretty cool video of Anna singing a rousing rendition of “baa baa black sheep, havin’ you da wolf” for her baby brother.

01/17/09 8:27 PM at 08:27pm Neal Babies  Birthdays  Family  Friends  Milestones  Parenting  Photos   1 comment