Baby Blog

This month, we welcomed Blake Ellis, born on September 2nd at 8:49pm, *only* ten days after her due date. Blake weighed 8lbs 2oz and measured 21 inches long. I joke about her being late, but those ten days felt like an eternity. Sebastien was 8 days late (although I went into labor at 6 days late) and Archer was 4 days late, so I had guessed that based on that trend, plus the fact that I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions leading up more than ever before, she would be right around her due date. I guessed wrong. At two days past my due date, with the midwives feeling that she was very much in position, Grammie and Pop-pop came up so they could be here for the birth. At four days past my due date, Ashlyn joined them. And then the waiting game began… I ate pineapple. I ate eggplant parm (is this a thing?) We walked. We walked some more. Every night we would go to sleep saying, “Maybe tonight is the night!” and every morning I would wake up still pregnant. At 6 days past due date, Grammie and Pop-pop had to go home to NY to photograph a wedding and pack up their apartment. At 9 days past due date, Ashlyn had to go back to work. Labor Day came and… no labor. Even though in retrospect, 10 days isn’t THAT late, I very much felt like a watched pot that wouldn’t boil. BUT THEN… the Tuesday after Labor Day, Nick went into work and I took the boys to the playground. I ran into Katie and Alysha and everyone remarked that this baby had to come soon. It was going to be HOT that day – it was so hot by 10am, that we left the playground to head back into the air conditioning. As soon as we got home and I sat down on the couch, the contractions started. After a few contractions at five minutes apart, I sent Nick a text that he should probably come home to handle lunch and naps. I hung out in the living room for a bit and we alerted Ra and Papa that we would probably need their help around 4pm. After naps, I retreated up to my bedroom with the iPad and a few episodes of Scandal but quickly gave up watching TV to focus on the contractions. Grammie and Pop-pop had finished packing up the storage unit and were headed our way, looking at a 6pm arrival. At around 4pm, Ra and Papa arrived, and Jessica, Sarafina and Emily came shortly after. The contractions picked up in intensity around that time and I was just hoping Grammie and Pop-pop would make it in time. Nick was alternating pushing on my back through every contraction with updating me on their precise location via text. Around 6:30pm, they hit some traffic… and then it felt like it was almost time to push. As they sat on 90 waiting to get through the tolls, Nick told them to get the camera ready and run upstairs the second they arrived. But then even though it seemed like this baby’s arrival was imminent, we started waiting again. Grammie arrived a little after 7pm and we woke Sebastien so he could come watch. I pushed on my side laying down. I tried a few contractions standing up. Then we moved to the birthing stool… and contractions all but stopped. Sebastien remarked, “Is the baby really coming or is she just showing us the noises she’s going to make again?” I distinctly remember having the thought, “I can’t do this anymore. What if this baby isn’t coming out and we have to go to the hospital?” But then Jessica said to try going down to all fours and there was FINALLY some movement. Sebastien complained that he could no longer see and he and his flashlight changed positions. A few pushes later, and almost two hours after the initial pushing stage, Blake came out screaming. Sebastien discovered that she was in fact a girl, helped Dad cut the cord and we got her all cleaned up, weighed and measured. Sebastien ate a celebratory cookie and then everyone was tucked into bed for the night, our little family of four now five.

We had a pretty mellow September, while we got used to having a newborn in the house again. The boys started school – Archer in Emma and Nancy’s toddler class and Sebastien one of the “big kids” on campus in Nicole and Carly’s room. Soccer started for both boys and Sebastien rejoined his gymnastics class. We went to the CNS family dance party and picked apples on a very warm, not very fall day.

In October, Nick took Sebastien to the “Kids Rock” concert to see Mister G and Dan Zanes. I took Blake for a long and brutal hearing screening at Mass Eye and Ear, which she passed without a problem. We drove down to NY to celebrate Jared’s surprise 30th birthday party in Brooklyn, spending the afternoon of the party at Adventureland with Grammie and Pop-pop, Ashlyn and Ben. Blake got to meet her aunts and uncles for the first time and the boys had a blast at the party. Out of nowhere one day, Archer decided he was all done with his crib and so we ordered bunk beds for the boys, which they love. We took Archer to see Ben Rudnick in concert and blew his mind with “the frog song” live. Nick and I went to the CNS Wine and Cheese, which was our first solo outing since Blake’s birth, and caught up with some Charlestown friends. And we celebrated a chilly but super fun Charlestown Halloween. Sebastien was unbelievably excited for Halloween this year, counting down all month until the big day. Archer was skeptical until he realized people were going to put candy in his bucket and then he was game for trick-or-treating. The boys ran around the neighborhood until 7pm, then came home for pizza and candy. Blake and I hung out until about 6:15pm, then escaped early back to the house to nurse and warm up!

Blake, at your one month check-up, you weighed 9lbs 4oz and measured 22 inches. Your biggest milestone was a first smile at exactly 6 weeks old. We knew Sebastien would love his little sis, but Archer has surprised us by being completely smitten. He can usually be found snuggling your head and giving you tons of kisses. Blake, you seem to be a cross between Archer and Sebastien in looks. You originally looked just like Archer’s baby pictures, but now are starting to look more like Sebastien. Your hair was dark brown to start but seems to be lightening. And you make the same “old man face” as your big brothers – must be an infant thing! You are super easy going and happy and so far, you are the best sleeper and nurser of the three. Thank goodness for easy third babies!

Archer, you have had your world rocked a bit by a new baby sister and the start of preschool all in one week. We also discovered at the same time that your two-year molars were part way in, which accounts for some of the extra moodiness and lack of sleep. This might have been part of the reason you decided one day that you were all done sleeping in your crib. You slept in our bed for two nights before I finally kicked you out and told you that you had to sleep in your crib or in Sebastien’s bed. You chose Sebastien’s bed and never looked back. For the two weeks before the bunk beds arrived, you shared a bed and we heard some pretty funny conversations over the monitor. “Nuggle! Nuggle Bastien!” “Archer, I DON’T want to snuggle!” “Nuggle!! Nuggle!!” “Archer, I need some SPACE!” You can usually be convinced to help out with the promise of a high five at the end. After high fiving everyone around you, you will also say, “High five Archer!” and high five yourself. You love stealing ice out of people’s glasses with your grubby little fingers and crunching on it. You have been singing all the time – it started with the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and you have moved on to the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Laurie Berkner songs (We are the Dinosaurs and The Goldfish especially), country songs like Truck Yeah and Small Town Throwdown and Thriller (“Triller”), which was a Halloween discovery. You can string so many more words together when you’re singing than when you’re speaking. Your current favorite books are Abiyoyo, the little Cookie Monster book, Little Blue Truck and (still) Halloween Moon. Halloween Moon was missing for a while and you would wander the room saying, “Halloween Moon… Is it?” (It was mysteriously discovered in the downstairs bookshelf we had checked a hundred times.) You seem to have a hard time with the “y” sound so your “yes” sounds more like “Lllless” and you’ll often ask, “Dada carry lou,” instead of “you.” You finally gave up on the word “yes” and started saying “mmmhmm” or nodding. You are also fond of the phrase, “I love…” and often tell us you love chocolate pudding, mac and cheese, candy and ice cream. One night at dinner, Sebastien told us, “We don’t have three toddlers. We have one baby, one toddler and one big kid. That’s me.” To which you replied, “And one momma… And one dada… One Archer… One picture. One other picture. One frodown showdown. One broken heart song…” And we also had this conversation, talking about names:
Me: And Grammie’s name is… Mindi!
A: Mickey!!!
Me: No, Mindi. And Pop-pop’s name is… Rich!
A: Grinch!!!
Me: And Ra’s name is… Nancy!
A: Mancy!
Me: And Papa’s name is…
A: Emma!

Sebastien, your biggest struggle at the moment seems to be grumpiness with your teachers when they ask you to do something you don’t want to do. We have been working on the “zones,” trying to get you to realize you can disagree with someone while staying in the “green zone.” At the moment, you seem to think the only options are happily agreeing or pissed off, arms crossed, close to tears grumpiness. Luckily, your wonderful teachers Nicole and Carly can see past the grumpiness to the sweet and hysterical kid that you are. Some of your most recent quotes:

Me: (after getting dressed) What do you think?
S: You look pretty… Why do you need to look pretty?

S: Why is there no holiday about celebrating dinosaurs?

S: Dad, can you pass me the humiliator?
N: It’s called a highlighter.

And here is your first dictated short story (based on a picture in a National Geographic Kids magazine):
The people were looking for ants with their magnifying glasses in a cave. They saw the ants stomping around like monsters. The people put their hands up in the air with their arms pointing up. The ants were doing the same thing. When they left the cave, they heard a loud blah blah blah sound. They were crashing their heads on the wall beside them. They hopped in their super cave car and went home without saying a word, except for goodbye.