That Was Fast

So after writing earlier this week about looking for a minivan, I didn't expect that we'd buy one so soon. I was still wishy-washy about wanting to purchase a new vehicle at that point. And that's why I hashed out all my thoughts on my blog.

Last night, this was delivered to my house:

Our friend had a great deal on it at his dealership. Plus he made us an even better deal. We already had a down payment and got a good trade-in for my old car. It fit a need that our family has and we are in a good place to afford it financially, so it was the right choice. I have no doubts.

Our new van is a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country Touring. It only had 56,000 miles on it. It's in really good shape, and we found out the back seats have never been used. In fact they've never seen daylight practically. This is a stow and go van, and the 70 year old previous (and only) owners kept the seats down all the time in the back. They had a scooter that was stored back there, so the back seats weren't used. There are a few minor dings and dents, but otherwise it's in great shape.

Most of us are happy and enjoying the extra space. As you can see in the picture, Zachariah was sad that we were getting a new vehicle. He was sad the car had to go and says he'll miss it. It was a good, old car, and I'll miss it too, but the van is so much more practical for us now.

One Month

Hard to believe, but my baby is one month old already. I'm sure I'll be saying this a lot...where did the time go?

At Jonah's check-up he weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and is 21 3/4 inches long. (That's an almost 2 pound gain in 3 1/2 weeks!) He's pretty much outgrown his newborn clothing at this point and fits nicely into some of the 0-3 month things.

He is cooing now when we talk to him. He follows us really well with his eyes. And he intentionally (at least I think it was intentional...sure seemed like it) smiled at me once this week. We haven't seen the smile since, but there are times when it seems close. I know he'll be grinning soon. He knows Mommy's voice for sure, and will watch for me when someone else is holding him, making sure I'm close by. He responds to Daddy and Zachariah as well.

Some of his favorite things: being held; sleeping with Mommy, looking at lights, staring out the windows, and eating.

He's a sweetheart and we love him very much!

Week 4

So, in the midst of the new car excitement, I didn't post the 4 week post that I wanted.

Jonah turned 4 weeks old. He went to a wedding with us and cried in the car all the way there and back. Fortunately it was at our church and not too far away. He got passed around a bit, and I can tell that's just not his thing. Some babies are content to sleep in anyone's warm arms, but not this little guy. He will stay awake and fight sleep (which he does) when too many people are handling him. He really just wants Mommy. In a way it works out for me, because I would just rather hold him most of the time anyway. When he starts getting fussy people  will pass him back. Plus I know he'll relax with me.

I feel like I'm hitting my stride with Jonah already. I know his hungry cry and when he's tired. I know that the moment he wakes up, he's going to fuss and scream and demand to be fed. While I can't figure out all his problems immediately (and sometimes he's just being fussy), I think we're getting used to each other.

Zachariah loves talking to Jonah and helping out or holding him when he can. It's really sweet. Jonah definately knows his brothers voice & while listen to him with wide eyes.

It's been fun having a little, snuggly baby in the house again. It already makes me want another one (not too soon, but definitely want to do this again).

Time for a Minivan

Well, it's already happened. We've had 3 weeks of 2 children, and we're already thinking about buying a minivan.

Actually we've been looking at them for a little while now. I learned to drive with a minivan, passed my driver's test with one, and that was my first "car" until I totaled it in an accident. I always liked having the space in a bigger vehicle. I also like being up higher off the road. And I knew that our next vehicle would be a minivan.

I'm currently driving a little Ford Focus wagon. I bought it used in it's model year. It only had 6,000 miles on it when we bought it. It's a 2002 and it has around 90,000 miles now. That's great for an eleven year old car. It's still in pretty good shape too. We've done little repairs to it over the years but no major issues. We have had to replace tires a little more frequently than we'd like due to an issue. We recently replaced front brakes and it will need new rear ones sometime relatively soon. Otherwise it's a pretty decent car, and it's served us well so far.

The biggest thing that has us looking is just for the space. My car is small...really small. I like the wagon, because there is a little more storage space in the back. But the inside of the car is cramped. It was tight with one car seat in the back, and now that we have two the whole back seat is packed. I don't think you could squeeze another person back there if you tried. Two car seats and it's completely full.

So, we've been keeping an eye out for a nice used minivan. One of my issues is paying for a vehicle that's newer than mine but has more mileage. So many of the minivans we've seen have high mileage on them.

We've had all our debts paid off for a while now. All we have is a portion of our mortgage. It's been great. The car has been paid off for years, then we paid off our truck a year after that. We haven't made a car payment in a long time. While we have been saving towards a newer vehicle, we don't have enough to pay for one outright yet. That would be the most ideal situation. However, we do have enough for a decent down payment  And we will be able to get a reasonable trade-in on my car in it's condition.

I have hesitated in looking for a new vehicle until recently. My biggest hesitation is needing a car loan. It's been so long since we've had one, I just don't like the idea of paying on one again. But we are in a good place to be able to do so, and we will probably even pay it off plenty early. We'll also continue to save for another vehicle while we're doing it, because Matt's truck is older and we want to be prepared if we're forced to replace that before we want to.

What has convinced me I'm ready for the minivan is Jonah. He's a little sweetie, but he can be a but fussy at times. First of all it's tough getting a baby seat in and out of my tiny car. Then there's the fact of the tight space in mine. But last weekend we dealt with Jonah crying on the way to and from a wedding we went to. He just was not happy in the car. I could not turn around to help him, and even though Zachariah tried he couldn't make it better. If we had a minivan, we could put Zachariah in the back and I could sit in the middle with Jonah when he's like that. (Thankfully that's the only time he's cried in the car like that. He's normally really good for us in the car.)

I can definitely see myself enjoying a minivan. So we've been looking at different ones for sale in the area. And yesterday we talked to a good friend, who works at a used car dealership. He actually has a nice minivan on their lot right now. It's a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. It has plenty of the extras that I would want. And the best thing is it has low mileage at just over 50,000 miles. The price might be just right for us too. We've been crunching numbers and checking on insurance first to make sure this won't make our budget too tight. And if all that works out (probably will) we will go check it out.

I don't know why I get so nervous about big purchases like this. (We're smart about our money, and it should work out just fine.) Wish me luck!

Week 3

I can't believe that Jonah is already 3 weeks old. It has gone fast already. And in the same way, I can't imagine our family without him. He just fits already. Funny how that happens.

Jonah was a little fussy last week. We're still not sure if there is something bothering him, or that's just how he is. I think he's just fussier than Zachariah was, but it doesn't bother me much. I've figured out how to help him most of the time. Part of it, we realized, was that he wasn't getting enough to eat. I was giving him a small amount of formula and was afraid to give more, because I wanted him to still nurse and get enough there. Well, he does still nurse at each feeding, but it doesn't take long for him to get the little that I have. Then he's still hungry, and being hungry makes him MAD. So I started giving him more formula after nursing each time. That seems to be helping a lot.

We had a busy weekend with outings. My grandfather was in the hospital ICU for almost two months. Then they moved him to a step-down facility. When he first went in we didn't know if he'd live a few days, but he made it well past that. He never wanted to be put in a nursing home, so my grandma's goal was to bring him home. Last week, they did just that. Grandpa Max came home. We figured he would need hospice care and it would only be a matter of time before he passes. So we decided to pack up the kids and head up to visit him. I hadn't seen him since a few days after he was first admitted in Toledo Hospital. Zachariah was not able to see him at all then since he was in ICU. I wanted Zachariah to have one last chance to see him. We were so surprised when we got to their house that Grandpa was talking, knew who we were, picking on us, and he'd requested lunch before we got there. (He hasn't eaten in those few months he's been sick.) It was great for Zachariah to talk to him, and we got to introduce Jonah to his only great-grandfather. Grandpa got a kick out of seeing our new guy, and he always loves visiting with Zachariah. (He seems to be the favored great-grandchild with him.)

Fortunately Jonah rides well in the car. He slept all the way up to our family and all the way back. While we were there it was a different story. My mom & sister were holding him at their house. But when we went to my grandparents' he was tired of being passed around, I think. My grandma did get to hold him for a bit, and 2 of my aunts stopped in and held him for a bit. But mostly he wanted mommy. I think his fussiness there was just being tired of being held by everyone. As soon as I insisted on taking him back from my sister, he curled up on me and fell right to sleep. Poor boy.

Sunday we took Jonah to church for the first time. I sat in the back with him & left him in his car seat. He work up once, so I fed him in the lobby. Then he slept the rest of the time. We even went to a surprise birthday party for a while in the afternoon for Matt's coworker/friend. Jonah slept the whole time there.  What a difference from the day before. I think the fact that we didn't let anyone else hold him helped a lot. Matt & I just kept him to ourselves and others just got to peek at him. He'll be easier to hold when he's a little older, though I know people just want to get there hands on him.

Since all that excitement, we haven't left the house. There really has been no need to, so I find it easier to stay home. I do need to get to the store eventually, though, because we're out of milk now. My goal is to make a quick grocery trip today. It's an adjustment having a baby and all his gear with me again when I get out. I'm a little out of practice.

Week 2

Our sweet Jonah is 2 weeks old already. As you can see, he is simply delicious. And as you can tell, I'm completely smitten. The whole family is really.

He has a decent schedule/routine already, and we're figuring each other out a little more now. He sleeps longer stretches at night, so I feel like I get enough sleep. It's not a full night's sleep, but with a newborn it's decent.

I am having problems breastfeeding again. Sad. I just don't produce much. Right now we're in a good rhythm of nursing then supplementing. I'm taking herbal supplements (expensive) that are supposed to help with my supply and making more milk glands. So far I can't tell if they are really working, but I'm going to keep taking them for a while. We'll do whatever we can to make this work. And for now I'm glad the baby will nurse. But look out when he's hungry. He'll go from content or asleep to screaming mad in seconds!

As you can see, I just started using our cloth diapers. I was using newborn disposables, because this he is such a little peanut. I was at the point of deciding to buy more disposables or try the cloth. I thought they would be too big, nut the FuzziBunz on the extra-small setting seem to be working well. And the are so cute on him.

Matt and Zachariah are pretty in love with this little guy too. Zachariah wants to hold him whenever he can. Jonah likes to watch him with wide-open eyes. Matt misses the little guy when he's at work and enjoys snuggles in the evenings. He's taken to the baby really quickly (especially for not being much of a baby guy). Just seeing him love and care for Jonah melts my heart and makes me love him even more.

I am feeling great and adjusting well to having a newborn around again. We waited so long for this little guy, but I see again now how God's timing is perfect. I actually would really like one more baby (not too soon, of course). Taking care of Jonah makes that feeling grow. I think it would be nice to have two closer in age. And I know the end of my baby producing years is quickly approaching. Whether or not I would even get pregnant again, I don't know. And for a while now Matt has said he is done having children. So since that may be the case, I will treasure every moment with this baby that I can. I know we are very blessed by him.

1 Week

Today Jonah is 1 week old. It's been a fast week, but I know it won't compare to the days, weeks, months, and years to come that will just fly by. So I'm trying to savor every moment with this little one. I feel very blessed and am constantly amazed by him. He's a little miracle in our lives.

We had Jonah's check up with the pediatrician yesterday. He's doing well, and even gained a little weight. He was 7lbs 3oz at birth and left the hospital at 6lbs 9oz. He weighed in at 6lbs 12oz at the pediatrician's office. All good news.

I am very lucky that Matt was able to take 2 weeks of work off. My mom stayed with Zachariah last week, so Matt was able to spend a lot of the time at the hospital with the baby and I. My mom and grandmother were telling me that their husbands didn't take any time off work after the baby came home. They just did what they had to do. While I appreciate that, and I can function on my own, it's been wonderful. When I'm busy with the baby (which as you can imagine is pretty much all the time), Matt is able to keep up with laundry and dishes. He's also making most of my meals and bringing me things as needed. It's been wonderful, and I'm glad that he has the time to take. It's also been good for him to be able to help care for the baby a bit and give attention to Zachariah when I can't. Next week I'll be on full-time mommy or two duty. Packing lunches, changing dirty diapers, laundry, dishes, feedings, homework and all.