Seeing Double: September 2015

Cameron and Lucy started 3 year old pre-school on Tuesday, August 25th. They go to school at Trinity Lutheran School which has classes for grades pre-school through 8th grade. They have school every Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 - 11:00am. Their teacher is Mrs. Laura Busse and there are a total of 8 kids in their class. I cannot begin to explain how proud I am of Cameron and Lucy for taking on preschool at the age of 3 and adjusting to being on their own there! They amaze me!

They started school before Rory was born and when I was 38 weeks pregnant. Grammy and I took them to school and picked them up on their first day. They were excited to go to school with their new school outfits and bags! They posed for pictures on our front porch and we headed off to TLS! When we got to school, I think the concept of being dropped off alone suddenly became overwhelming. They were both in tears and seemed pretty devastated. Cameron had to be carried to class by the school principal Mr. Hoffmann. He cried the whole way down to his class. Lucy cried hard and clung to me. Then she dried her tears and ended up walking down to her class on her own after I assured her I would be waiting outside when school was over. I hated seeing them so sad and it took pretty much everything in me to not demand on staying at class with them. I cried as soon as they were out of my sight and prayed they'd be okay. A classroom assistant called me twice to give me updates on their morning and assure me that they had both stopped crying. By the time we picked them up at 11am though, they were back to smiles and sharing stories from their day. Grammy and I took them to Panera to pick up lunch and then we headed to the dinosaur park for a picnic and playtime! On Thursday morning, Jeremy and Grammy took them for their 2nd day of school. Drop off was filled with tears again but it wasn't quite as bad. By the time they had their 3rd week of school, both Cameron and Lucy had stopped crying at drop off. Hooray! They do a great deal of fun things in class each day including art time, singing songs, Jesus time, gym or playground time and playing toys. They have a snack each day with chocolate milk. I have been emailing their teacher to ensure they are enjoying their time at school and they really seem to be! They have had great progress reports each week as well! I signed up to be head room parent for their class and really look forward to being able to help with all their class parties!

Their first party was the fall party on October 29th. Myself and 2 other moms coordinated games, a snack and a craft. I made a bowling game and a paper plate pumpkin craft for the kids. When I arrived at their classroom the twins were so excited to see me! They had lots of fun that morning and made sure I stayed very close to them. Such a fun and special morning in their classroom!

Pictures from their first day, their progress reports, and a daily report are included below.

Rory Andrew Bradley was born on Monday, August 31st at 12:32 pm at BroMenn hospital! He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He has a a full head of dark hair and is absolutely perfect! Rory was delivered via C-section by Dr. Gratkins. Daddy was in the OR with us and took some pictures and held my hand during the delivery. Rory started cooing and crying the moment he was born which of course brought me to tears. His pediatrician came for his first check-up while I was still on the operating table and confirmed that Rory is indeed perfect. After my surgery was over, Rory and I were taken back to my hospital room, room 1110, where we started skin to skin care and nursing shortly after. Rory loves to snuggle and eats like a champ! Grammy came back to our hospital room shortly after Rory and I were brought back. I have to admit the next details, or at least the exact order of events, are a bit blurry probably due to the meds (and hormones, adrenaline, etc). Papa, Grandpa John, Uncle James, Uncle Ben, and Auntie Annie all came back to the hospital room to see Rory after an hour or so I believe. They had been in the waiting room during delivery. I think it's safe to say they all loved our new addition from the moment they saw his sweet face. Everyone took a turn holding him. The nurses gave Rory his first bath the day he was born. He really enjoyed having his hair washed!

On Monday afternoon, after Cameron and Lucy got up from their nap, Nana brought them to the hospital to meet their new baby brother. I was so happy when they arrived and felt beyond blessed to have these 3 amazing babies (yes 2 of the babies are 3 years old). The twins were a bit overwhelmed I think to see me in the hospital bed and were not quite sure how to act around their new baby brother at first. It was cute to watch them slowly warm up to the idea that Mommy was okay, despite having to stay in the hospital a few days, and that its okay to kiss and love on Rory. The twins stayed at the hospital with us until about 7pm that evening. Before they left, we took our first family photo as a family of 5. This is my absolute favorite picture to date!

Jeremy stayed with us each night. He went home early each morning to see the twins and stayed with them all day on Wednesday as well. While he was with them, Grammy or Auntie Annie came to stay with me at the hospital. Cameron and Lucy came to the hospital each evening to have dinner with us, visit their brother, and play at the hospital. Being able to snuggle Rory all day and night and seeing the twins each day were the best parts of those hospital days. Blessings abound!! We had several other visitors while at the hospital including Great Grandpa Donn, my friends Lea Menning, Kelly Cornejo, and Kristy Hunt, and our friend Lisa Riess who was one of the night nurses who helped us when the twins were born. While we were at the hospital, Rory lost 11% of his body weight. Although this was cause for concern, we were still discharged from the hospital on day 4. Rory and I were discharged from the hospital on Thursday, September 3rd.

Jeremy, Rory and I got home from the hospital around 3pm on Thursday just as the twins were getting up from their naps. Grammy was here at the house with them. The inside and outside of the house was all decorated for Rory's homecoming by Auntie Annie and the twins. Everything looked so cute and festive!

We had to take Rory to see Dr. Emm on Friday, the day after we left the hospital in order to have his weight checked. He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz which was good! We took him back to see Dr. Emm on Friday, September 18th. Rory weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz! Dr. Emm said he's clearly a good eater, which he is! He has had great checkups so far so we do not have to take him back until he's 2 months old. Rory is 3 weeks old today. Since we have been home, the twins have grown to adore Rory. They have been protective of him since day 1 and express concern when someone other than Jeremy or I hold Rory. They both ask to hold Rory each day, several times a day, and check on him any time they hear him cry. They love to pat his back or rub his head and give him little kisses. Rory is so lucky to have such loving siblings! They are enthralled with him!

Rory sleeps quite a bit still. At night he sleeps in the bassinet of the pack n' play in our bedroom. He typically sleeps 2.5 to 3 hours at a time so we're getting just enough sleep to get by I think! We've had a few nights where he eats at night and is then wide awake for seemingly forever. I think we need to make sure our little buddy understands days and nights. During the day he takes about 2 long naps a day and numerous small naps in between. He loves being held and snuggled which is just fine by me! We have done tummy time a couple times for a few minutes a piece. He doesn't hate it but doesn't really enjoy it either. That will come with time I'm sure. He's still wearing newborn clothes and diapers but will probably move on from both very soon! He poops all day long, and has earned himself a good diaper rash from it. Triple paste and Destin to the rescue! His belly button stump fell off around 1.5 weeks of age, and has not healed yet. We started using rubbing alcohol on it yesterday (per Dr. Emm's recommendation) and it's looking better already. Other than than, all is well in Rory's world. We're so in love with our baby boy and know he's the perfect addition to our family. We all love being a family of 5. The twins are too cute about this and like to name all of our family members!

First bath at the hospital! He loved getting his hair washed.