Clinging To Summer

For the last two days the temperature has been above 80 degrees.  Today we just had to take advantage of this summer weather, so we went to B.urghley's Garden of S.urprises.

McColley started things off with a sprint through the fountains:

Then the boys discovered how fun it is to step on the fountains:

After a bit they decided to find other fountains to play in.  This 'river' became their favorite thing in the whole garden:

I set a time limit on how long they could walk up and down the 'river' but only so we would have time to go and get ice cream:

We hope this weather lasts for another day or two!

"Good Morning Little One!"

"Ohhh, he's so cute!"

-Brayton's daily morning greeting to Pearson

Lessons From Big Brother

"Pearson, you have to watch this! It's the best part!"

Good-Bye Grandma and Grandpa

After a month of changing diapers, reading bedtime stories, taking walks to the park and cuddles it is time for Grandma and Grandpa Maguire to leave.

But before the final goodbyes, we took a moment to do final pictures.

One with McColley:

One with a paint-covered Brayton:

One with a sleeping Pearson:

And one with all three:

The boys didn't really seem to understand that Grandma and Grandpa are really leaving and we won't see them for a while.  As they were loading up the car to go, McColley told me we'd see them again at Thanksgiving.  I told him that it was going to be more like Easter.  I think it will take a few days for the realization to settle in and for the boys to get used to having only two adults around the house instead of four.

An American In London

Pearson is an American Citizen!

Today B and I took him to the U.S. Embassy in London and turned in all his paperwork (passport and social security applications plus his record of consular birth).  It took about two hours and a vast majority of that was just waiting.  However we should have his passport and social security card back within three weeks so the turn around speed made the trip down to the embassy worth it:

Grandma and Grandpa Maguire brought McColley and Brayton down to London about two hours after we got there.  Unfortunately they had to wait at Kings Cross for a bit because the Embassy had confiscated our phones while we were inside, so we couldn't call them and let them know we were still there.

However, when we finally got back outside and were reunited with our phones, we figured out a quick place to meet up.

Then it was time for our Royal Day Out at Buck.ingham Palace:

McColley was very excited to see some of the Queen's guards ride by:

First we toured the State Rooms (where pictures were not allowed).  This year the State Rooms are hosting the royal family's Faberge collection which includes a lot of little pieces and four of the Imperial Easter Eggs.  The Faberge items are incredibly beautiful and intricate.  Even the boys found them amazing.

The State Rooms also have the Duc.hess of Cambridge's wedding dress on display and the D.uke and Duche.ss' wedding cake on display (yes, the real cake that they cut).  Interestingly, her dress looks exactly the same in person as it did on TV. 

We were allowed to take pictures once we were back outside in the royal gardens:

After we finished at the Palace, we got to see the Queen's Gall.ery which is hosting an exhibition of Dutch landscapes along with their regular collection of art.

Our final stop was the Royal Mews.  The boys were super excited to get the chance to draw:

When we finally managed to drag them away from the drawing area we got to see all the fabulous royal carriages, including the Golden State Coach:

The boys were worried that the only horses we were going to see were the fake ones attached to the Golden State Coach, but as we left the Mews we got to see four of the Queen's real live horses (who were eating with their heads down and are therefor impossible to see in this picture but we could see them through the door crack):

Our last stop was the Har.d Rock Cafe for dinner and then it was back home on the train.

A Discharge Of Joy

One of the nice things about having Pearson at the British hospital is that the local midwife actually comes to your home to do follow-up checks on the mother and baby.

Our first midwife visit was the Friday after Pearson was born.  At five days old, he had lost weight.  He was down about two hundred grams.  The midwife wasn't too worried, it's normal for babies to lose a bit of weight plus Pearson looked great.  No jaundice, great muscle tone.

The midwife came back a week later to do our final check.  However, Pearson had lost more weight.  He was now down 360 grams.  He still looked just fine and was eating often but the midwife couldn't discharge us from their care until he gained weight. 

So, the midwife came back two days later.  All Pearson had to do was gain SOMETHING.  Even just one gram.  But he hadn't.  He was down another 40 grams.  He'd lost a total of 400 grams - or almost a pound from his birth weight.

The thing is, there was nothing obviously wrong.  He still looked fine.  I'd been feeding him constantly and we'd even topped him off with a bottle a few times.  The midwife had checked Pearson's latch a few times and all seemed to be well but this time I asked her to look specifically at his tongue.  McColley had been born with a severe tongue-tie that we got clipped at 24 hours of age.  Pearson's tongue was also tied, but not as severely as McColley's had been.  I wondered if it was affecting how efficiently he could eat.

Luckily the midwife knew another midwife who was licensed to perform tongue (ferenium) clippings.  She was able to come over Sunday afternoon.

The hospital's midwife came back over today - Pearson has gained back 110 grams!  He's eating less often but acting more full.  We've all noticed that his face seems to have filled out a bit.  It was just that tongue-tie!  I only wish we'd had it clipped sooner.

Excited that we've finally been discharged from the hospital midwife's care, we decided to go on an outing to Bur.ghley House.  We toured the state rooms and then headed out to the garden.

Brayton wanted to play in the water but didn't want to get wet:

Finally he understood that he could just put his hand in and avoid wet clothes:

And then he realized that it was super funny to go and give wet high fives to everyone:

A Busload Of Fossils

Yesterday we took a day trip into Cambrid.ge:

Where Pearson got his first ride in the ring sling:

The day started with a bit of shopping followed by lunch and then a bus tour of the city:

Thinking we were done for the day, we hopped off near our parking garage - which also happened to be near the Se.dgewick Museum.  They had dinosaurs! 

So we had to go in and check it out:

They also had a newly renovated gallery with books and fun displays:

The boys can't wait to take Daddy for a visit!

We Grew Baby Carrots!

McColley asked for carrots in his lunch today.  Unfortunately, we were all out of store-bought carrots.  Then B remembered we had a bunch of carrots growing in our garden - so outside we went to pick them!

The first one that B got out of the ground was a little underwhelming:

The second one out of the ground was actually a good size:

Eventually we ended up with a few big carrots and a handful of baby carrots:

Next season we should probably space our seeds a little better (or at all).

Monday, Monday

This morning we were supposed to get portraits taken of Pearson.  Unfortunately, he kind of refused to play along.  In fact, he only settled down and fell asleep after the photographer had left:

 Luckily the photographer is my friend Ms. E and she's going to come back later this week for another attempt.

While I was trying to get some pictures taken of Pearson, Grandma and Grandpa took the older boys into town to get bicycle helmets (they had outgrown last years'). 

When they got home, they HAD to try their new helmets out despite the windy remnants of Hurricane Katia.  Brayton required a little help:

But McColley battled the wind all by himself:

Raptor Review

Today we decided to all go out and do something.  Since it was Pearson's first major outing, we decided to do something relatively low key.

We visited the Ra.ptor Foundat.ion:

The boys enjoyed seeing the eagles, hawks, buzzards and owls:

The boys also enjoyed feeding the fish (pellet by pellet):

The Foundation did have a pair of American Bald Eagles who, much to B's surprise, are sponsored by his work:

We found a cute bench and tried to take a 'formal' picture... although someone refused to play along:

Pearson enjoyed his first experience in the sling by sleeping the entire time:

Early in our visit we found a sign that said to look for Leo - he's an owl that's allowed to roam freely.  Finally near the end of our visit Brayton spotted him sitting in some rocks:

The very last thing we did was watch the flying demonstration.  The owl demonstration got a little too close for comfort (especially on his last flying pass - he scratched Grandpa's hat with his talons):

Pearson's First Week Home

On Monday Pearson and I were discharged from the hospital.  Brian brought McColley and Brayton to the hospital at 10am when visiting hours started because we expected to be discharged at any moment.

Finally, at 1:30pm, we got our walking papers.  As is our tradition, Pearson wore the same outfit home as his two older brothers:

Those two older brothers had been extremely patient waiting to leave and were excited that it was finally time to head home:

Once everyone was home, McColley lost no time in asking to hold his baby brother:

This week has been busy for McColley.  His preschool started up again on Tuesday.  Also on Tuesday he started swimming lessons.  Wednesday was more school and ballet class. Thursday was also a school day, but he only goes in the morning.  After we picked him up, we decided it was time to do something fun for everyone.

We had lunch at the bowling alley and then went bowling.  Brayton started out very interested in his baby brother:

However it was McColley who once again asked to help hold him while I took my turn:

Pearson got passed around a bit as the adults all took their turns.  McColley continued to help but Brayton decided to spend his time between turns playing on the iPhone:

Eventually Grandpa had to threaten to take Brayton's turns to get him to actually take his turns:

This morning after we woke up both boys asked to hold Pearson together:

After they were dressed, Grandma and Grandpa Maguire took the two older boys up to Peterborough for a day of adventure while Pearson and I stayed at home and waited for the midwife.

Pearson spent most of his day sleeping:

The midwife showed up at 3pm to take a blood sample for testing and to weigh him again.  Pearson is now 8lbs 3oz, but that is well within the allowed amount of weight loss for a newborn.

I also finally measured him and he is 20.5 inches long.  Because of that, I put the birth info into the baby pool - Patti beat out Grandpa Hopkins by 5.5 points!

McColley Redux

So, I'm writing as Katharine, because I can't get my username to update the blog. That happened with The Lion King post as well.

Friday night, Dad and I had planned to go to I.kea to get some storage furniture for the Le.go room. Yes, we have a Leg.o room, and are buying furniture specifically for it. Even though I got home late from work, I still thought we could make it to Ik.ea, which is an hour away, and closes at 2100. Unfortunately, Katharine didn't want me to be an hour away from her.

On Saturday, we went to St I.ves for lunch, and then Brady, Dad and I walked around the village, trying to find a gift for Katharine, while Katharine and Mom took McColley to his first tap lesson. Apparently, British tap and American tap are two different styles of dance. Katharine, Mom and McColley met up with us just as I was purchasing Katharine's gift. We walked back to the car, but slowly. When we got home, Mom and Dad started playing with the boys, while I started counting. At about 2 on Saturday afternoon, I had begun timing Katharine's contractions. The contractions started coming at about 7 minutes apart, so Katharine called the hospital. The midwife told her to arrange childcare and come in.

This is what Katharine looked like when we first got admitted to the hospital:



We actually went for a walkabout before going back to the room and Katharine used the birthing ball. Katharine's contractions were stronger, longer and coming more frequently. We had gone for our walkabout in the park near the hospital and returned to the room because we didn't want to get caught far away in case the labor accelerated. After an examination, Katharine was at 4 cms, and diagnosed as active labor, so we were staying. Our midwife said that third children can be unpredictable methods of labor. To prove her right, this is what Katharine looked like just before Sept. 3 became Sept. 4:

Our second midwife also said that third children can be unpredictable, and when she examined Katharine, four hours after the first, she was still at 4 cms. Pearson had stalled, and did not want to come on an odd day. Because the contractions had become erratic, the midwife recommended Katharine move to a different ward and sleep, and see what happened when she woke up. Because of the ward Katharine was moved to, I had to go home and they were going to call me when things changed. At this point, we had deja vu regarding McColley's birth. We didn't want it to last as long as McColley's, in length of either labor or pushing. We were obviously filled with trepidation.

I got the call at 4:45 the morning of Sept. 4 to come back to the hospital, because Pearson was again progressing. I returned to find her in a different room in the delivery ward. It didn't have a regular hospital bed, but a weird-shaped foam bed with a giant bean bag at one end to prop up on. As labor progressed, Katharine began to use the pain medications already in the hospital room - because this is England, it was nitrous oxide. The laughing gas didn't lessen the pain, but it helped to take the edge off. After a couple of hours of labor, we got a great result!

Pearson was born this morning at 8:54 - he is 8 lbs 11 oz, but we won't know his length until we get him home and measure him. Immediately after the birth, the midwife put Pearson up on Katharine's chest to allow for mother/son bonding. This was definitely a different experience than either of our other births. Where there were several people in the room at both KGHs, the only people in the room for Pearson's birth were the two of us and our midwife. We think that partly the reason for this is because the British decided to also celebrate Labor Day. The labor ward was packed with ladies giving birth, and it was the busiest our midwife had ever seen.

The doctor decided to keep Pearson and Katharine in the hospital for 24 hours for observation. Unfortunately, with how busy they were, we had to be moved out of the labor ward to the Lilac Ward. Before that happened, I got to hold Pearson so Katharine could take a shower.

The Lilac Ward still wasn't ready for us, so we were moved to an empty room in a different ward, because they needed our delivery room. Because they had been through such a harrowing experience, both mother and son decided to sleep while waiting for our room to be ready.

Katharine finally got moved to the Lilac Ward, but unfortunately, this ward was the same one Katharine had slept in and had limited visiting hours. I ran home to get the boys, so they could take advantage of the visiting hours to meet their new brother. Needless to say, they were excited.

After the boys greeted Pearson, they began to examine him. After he got tired of being held by Mom, Pearson decided to let Grandma hold him. We're still not sure if a new grandson is worth 12 hours in an airplane and 24 hours of watching two hyperactive children, but judging by the looks on their faces, I'd say it is.

The boys were then excited to examine Pearson more closely. They were surprised to discover Pearson had arms, hands and feet like them. McColley noticed that he also had eyebrows - apparently eyebrows are more important than the ten fingers and toes.

Katharine finally got the camera, and snapped this great photo of Pearson.

Since Mommy had the camera, McColley

Visiting hours were over, so we had to leave for a couple of hours. We grabbed some dinner, while I made the family phone calls. After promising the family pictures, and packing some more items for Katharine, we returned for the last set of visiting hours of the day. Grandma showed McColley a good way to comfort newborns.

Before we had to leave for the night, the boys had to get their Mommy time in. Regardless of how much they enjoyed having a new brother, both boys still just wanted to spend time with their mother. We then had to say goodbye to Mommy for the night, but everyone is excited to bring Pearson home tomorrow! 

And the present? Katharine has to get home, before she can unwrap it. We'll also update the baby pool once their home and we've measured Pearson. It looks like it will be a close call between Warren and Patti - the length could decide it!