2 Week Update

Well, Allie made it to two weeks old and more importantly so did the rest of the family!!

We went to the doctor yesterday for her 2-week appointment and Allie is doing great!! She is definitely the good eater we've been claiming she is! She was back up to her birth weight of 7lb 4 oz at 5 days old. Yesterday at 2 weeks, she was 8lbs 2oz already! 19 inches at birth and 20.5 inches at two weeks. Her weight puts her just at the 50th percentile, she's between 50 and 75th percentile for height, and she's about 25th percentile for her head circumfrence.

The doctor was encouraged by her eating and sleeping patterns. I proudly told Dr. Cuddihy that Allie has had 5 hour stretches of sleep for two nights in a row now! She says it's mostly due to her good weight gain, so keep it up!

We're keeping busy with the boys and they seem to just LOVE doing everything with Allie along now. We took a trip to the playground and brought a blanket and a picnic lunch.

And the boys are having fun dressing up Allie in all her girlie clothes and even seeing what she can fit in since she's so small.

Their favorite is Allie in their builder hat. ;)

And the doctor gave us approval for a road trip, so our first trip as a family of five will be next week as we travel down to VA to see Ron's family. Wish us luck!!

4th of July

Happy Birthday, America! The Maisch family managed to celebrate the 4th in all its splendor, even with a one-week old baby. Don't know if we can chalk it up to being more relaxed parents with the third one, a quicker recovery for Mommy, or just the fact that Allie is simply the BEST baby ever, but we had a great day!

First we headed out to the Summit 4th of July Festival (New Providence cancelled their festivities this year due to construction). The boys got to ride a train and jump in the bounce house.

They tasted cotton candy for the very first time, too. Robbie loved it, but Scottie would only eat it if Ron placed small bites in his mouth for him. He didn't like getting sticky. :) Hee, hee. Allie slept most of the morning and woke up in time to see her brothers rounding the last corner of the train and stayed awake long enough for a bottle and lots of looking around, wide-eyed. We lost count early on of all the people who stopped us along the way to ask how old she was. We think she definitely won the "youngest attendee" prize at 7 days old. Even the local police force stopped Ron to sneak a peak at our red, white and blue All American Girl.

Ron ran the bases with the boys while Mommy and Allie stood in lines for rides. They had a blast on "a REAL baseball field!" Both boys are anxiously awaiting next spring when Robbie is old enough for the tee-ball league. Scottie will have to live with disappointment a while longer, but all they both talk about is how, "We'll be able to play on a REAL team when we're bigger." Next year, we'll have to show up earlier with the boys' tricycles. We got there just as the parade of bikes, trikes, wagons and strollers all decked out in red, white, and blue decorations was ending.

Later that night, we took the family to my parents' house for a BBQ. Hot dogs, burgers, salads, cupcakes and s'mores. The boys had a ball running around playing outside. And Allie got lots more attention from friends of the family who hadn't met her yet. Busy day, but we all made it through together and had fun! So far, this family of five is figuring things out pretty well. Happy Fourth, everyone!

Allie is here!

Allison Elizabeth Maisch arrived at 7:32pm on Friday, 6/27/08. She weighed in at 7lbs 3.9oz and was 19 inches long. Little round face, sweetheart chin and soft, dark hair. She's simply precious!

Mommy and Allie came home today and we're all going to spend the next few days, weeks, months, getting acclimated to being a family of five.

The boys adore her, and Ron is loving having a Daddy's girl. We simply couldn't love her more!

Predictions

We're all making predictions after my 39-week OB appointment yesterday. As of Wed, 6-25, I was 2-3 cm dilated. Due date is still 5 days away at July 1. But, as we all know, even the predictions of the best ultrasound techs and doctors can be off, so we started a little guessing game with our friends and family to see who will be right about when Baby Girl Maisch will make her appearance. Even Robbie got in on the action this morning. This was our conversation:

Me: Robbie, when do you think your baby sister will get here?

Robbie: July

Me: You know, she could come anyday now. She could come today, or tomorrow, or this weekend...

Robbie: or Tuesday

Me: You think she'll come on Tuesday?

Robbie: Yes.

Me: Okay. What will we name her?

Robbie: How 'bout Nicole?

So there you have it, folks. Our 4-year-old Nostradamus' prediction. (What got me the most is that he has no idea that Tuesday is the first day of July or my due date. He just pulled that one out on his own...as well as naming her Nicole, too.) Hee hee. ;) Of course, now Robbie has changed his mind back to "Lauren" for her name. Fickle.

Scottie says, "Maybe the baby will be Allie. I like Allie," and that she'll arrive "tomorrow."

For posterity, here's the list of guesses so far!

Wed, June 25: AllyF
Thur, June 26: Ron, Lori B, Kim D
Fri, June 27: Mom S, Sarah, Kim G, Scottie
Sat, June 28: Sue, Tracey, Ashley (1:31pm), Mike
Sun, June 29: Barbie, Tami, Marla, Dad M
Mon, June 30: Anne, Amy
Tues, July 1: Stace, Caleb, Robbie
Wed, July 2: Blue
Thur, July 3: Kate
Fri, July 4: Mom M, Kerry, Jen, Ali, Brynn, Brandi
Sun, July 6: Price
Tue, July 8: Evan

Anticipation

Remember that old Carly Simon song? It's going through my head these days. After being induced two weeks early with Scottie, I really thought I'd already be holding my baby girl by now. But here I am, 7 days away from my July 1 due date and still no news to report.

At my ultrasound appt last week, the baby was measuring smaller than either of my boys were at that stage. 7lbs 7oz on the ultrasound (which is probably really around 6lbs in reality since the u/s always measure so big). So my OB said we're just going to wait and see. I have another OB appt tomorrow to see if I'm dilated or anything, but I kinda doubt it. I never dilated on my own or had my water break or anything on my own with either of my earlier pregnancies, so I feel like I just need to wait it out again this time.

But we're all excited, knowing that she could arrive at any time now! Lots of anticipation going on. When will she arrive? What will her delivery be like? What will she look like? What will we name her? How will the boys react? What kind of baby will she be? I'm just so excited (and yes, a bit nervous, too) that I can't wait!

So, place your bets. When do you think baby girl Maisch will arrive? Ron's betting on Thursday, 6/26. I feel like, if I've gone this long, it would be nice to have a July baby, so I'd like to see her arrive on Tuesday, 7/1, which is my actual due date. Any guesses? We'll let you all know as soon as we know! :)

Boys and their Toys

I suppose getting spoiled with all sorts of new toys and gifts is what turning 4 is all about, but Robbie (and Scottie) really made out like bandits with all of their new goodies. It's been sum- sum- summertime here in the backyard with their new wooden playset, cool water pistols and super soaker blasters, and the driveway with brand new rollerskates and skateboard.

We also had a fantastic visit with Uncle Mike who came back to Jersey for the first time in three years. It was a great combination of reasons to get together with lots of family and just play and have fun.

Although, it does blow my mind over how fast my boys are growing up. I mean, when did they get old enough to be little skaters?

Happy 4th Birthday, Robbie!

It's only 9AM and we've already had a big, big day! Robbie and Scottie woke up around 6:20, so they got to spend a half hour with Daddy before he left for work. We opened a few presents and Robbie loves all the superheroes, cool new cape, binoculars, etc. We'll do gifts in shifts today so he doesn't get overwhelmed, but both boys are having a blast.

Gifts were followed by superhero pancakes and some singing and dancing to superhero music. (Can you tell this day will follow a theme?) ;)

Scottie even had a surprise for us on Robbie's b-day, too. At breakfast, he declared, "I need to go potty!" This from my child who refuses to even sit on the potty for an M&M. So off we went and had a little potty party. Scottie on his little potty seat and Robbie on the big potty. Surprise of all surprises, Scottie went! He even agreed to wear a big boy Diego pullup today, too! (First time not wearing a diaper for him.)

Now we're off to run some errands for the family party tonight. The kids' party is tomorrow. What a fun morning so far!