Hawkes' First Month

Wow, it has been six weeks already since Hawkes joined our family! None of us has ever been so tired or happy to have this little guy with us.  I forgot how exhausting it is to have a newborn and also how sweet.

Likes: being held, being rocked, baths, riding in the car, stroller rides (after a rocky start, he likes them now), his bouncy seat, SOPHIE, the Ergo carrier, the ABC song sung by Sophie, pretty much anything Sophie does!  The love is mutual - watch this.

Dislikes: the witching hours of about 6pm to 8pm, crib naps (see above - likes behind held!), waiting more than 0.3 seconds to eat when he's hungry, the swing

Personality: loves to gaze at the ones he loves.  Gets excited hearing Sophie's voice and gave her his first real smile.  Loves snuggling.  Makes a true bird call noise just before sneezing.  I have tried for a month to capture this hilarious and endearing bird call on camera and finally got a second of it here. Now that we're on week 6, he's really developing a personality - making funny faces, discovering body parts (hands, feet, tongue, blowing bubbles) and reacting to our funny faces. 

This month has been full of challenges, not just the kind that come with having a new little guy and making lots of adjustments.  Many of you know Jason had back surgery just 9 days ago after suffering tremendous pain from a disc herniation.  We may share more about that another time. What this means for him is that he hasn't gotten to pick up, rock, play with Hawkes like he wants to.  He hasn't gotten to share those middle of the night moments with him that you would think a guy wouldn't miss, but I know he does miss them. We're confident that in a few short weeks, Jason will be able to do all of those things and make up for lost time. He is the best dad and my best friend, and we all look forward to seeing him back in business!  Sophie and Hawkes and some precious moments as a family, despite the challenges, have made this the best month we can remember.

We Get by with a Little Help from Our Friends

It seems like a good time to ask for prayers if you pray or vibes and positive thoughts if that's more your thing. Jason is having back surgery on Tuesday and we are hopeful that it will bring relief in every way for him and our family. Without going into too much detail, he has a disc herniation and some accompanying issues that he's tried to tackle in every other way, but now that those other avenues have been exhausted, it's time for surgery. We're confident in the abilities of the surgeon, Dr. Richard Lebow, and look forward to seeing good results.  This hormonal and tired new mom looks forward to finally seeing him be able to rock our baby and move without pain. 

 

We appreciate every single thought and prayer and will post an update after the surgery!

Hospital Bag Checklist

Having a second baby gave me a slight advantage when I packed a bag for the hospital because I knew what I wished I had the first time around and kind of remembered what I was glad I had.  Here's what we brought, and it seems like a lot but it all fit in one small weekender bag:

For me:
Glamourmom nursing tanks
Gilligan & O'Malley Nursing Sleep bras - Target 
Bravado Silk Seamless Nursing Bra

Robe
2 button-down nightshirts
2 pair leggings, 2 cardigans
Slippers
Comfortable flats
Pillow
Phone/iPad and charger
Camera
Glasses and enough contacts for a few days
Toiletries, including Cetaphil face wipes and heavy-duty lotion (your skin will be DRY from the hospital air and especially if you are breastfeeding)
Toilet paper!!  You do not want the hospital-grade TP.
Forgot to bring a bath towel!  Also might want to pack a blanket for the new dad. Our hospital had plenty of blankets but you never know!

For Hawkes:
2 newborn sleepers
2 three-month sleepers (we weren't sure how big he'd be and low and behold, he was born almost too big for NB clothing!)
Miracle blanket for swaddling (we've moved to Halo Swaddle Sleepsacks and SwaddleMe swaddles now that we're home)
A couple of receiving blankets
Carseat

To pack all these things in my weekender, I used a couple of sets of these eBags packing cubes.  I can't say enough good things about the packing cubes - they're great for keeping things organized and separating my clothes from Hawkes', toiletries from clothing, etc. 

Vanderbilt has a variety of room service food options and snacks available at no cost (outside of the $$$$ we spend to be there!) so I didn't pack any food, but otherwise might have packed granola bars, nuts, etc to have on hand because having a baby for me is like running a race - I am starving and parched for days after!  I also didn't pack diapers and wipes because I knew those would be available. 
 
That's it! Hope this helps someone out there! 

 

The Blocks are in!

This may not seem cheer-worthy, but it is!  After weeks of weather-related delays (too wet to dig the footers, too cold to pour the concrete, etc) all the stars finally aligned long enough to get those footers dug and concrete poured so that the blocks could go in and the framing of the addition can start soon!  As you can see, this photo was taken from the comfort of my car because it was raining like crazy today.  The space closest to the car is the kitchen, with the laundry room in between that and the master suite and hallway on the farthest side. 

We've also selected cabinets for the kitchen so I'll have some photos of the sample gallery to share soon and some details about the type of wood, the company, and some of the features we're including.  For now, though, I'm feeling ecstatic about the progress!

Is it Just Me Or...

Is the doorbell that much louder when you have a sleeping baby in the house? I swear, every delivery (accompanied by ridiculous dog-barking) arrives just when Hawkes settles in for that last late afternoon nap. 

I'm trying to get my act together to write a real post, but wanted to share some photos of the first two days Hawkes was here with us at Vanderbilt until then. 

Our first family photo, minus Sophie. Someone asked if I was wearing makeup and the answer is I might have had a little residual makeup from the previous day at work - I was in labor from about noon on 1/13 until I delivered at 5:24am on 1/14.  Washing my face wasn't exactly a priority!

Hawkes!

Kids, in case you don't know the conversion, 4.080 kg is NINE POUNDS!

Proud dad

Keeping it real. She was excited about Hawkes, but she's still three!

Who knew we'd have a great hospital room view? And gorgeous flowers from some thoughtful well-wishers.

Love this pic of the proud big sister

And another...

Headed home!

 

 

 

Just for fun, here's us going home with newborn Sophie!

Hawkes is Here!

On Tuesday, January 14, 2014 we welcomed Hawkes Lee Powell to the world and to our family.  He arrived five days past his due date, but right on time.  Hawkes' official stats were 9 pounds, 21.25 inches and perfect in every way!  I delivered at Vanderbilt, like I did with Sophie, and I can't say enough great things about the OB team and labor and delivery teams.  We had a small scare when Hawkes was a few hours away from delivery, but it was well-explained to us and we felt reassured and confident that teams were in place to jump in as needed when he was born.  Thankfully, no intervention was necessary but we had quite an audience in the delivery room.  

Vanderbilt uses Bella Baby Photography to capture some of those sleepy and early newborn moments.  Here's one of the many photos taken of Hawkes:

We know Hawkes isn't a traditional name and lots of friends and strangers and even family have asked how we chose his name.  Jason's great-great grandfather was John Hawkes Mellard, an angus cattle farmer in Kansas.  We both love one of the stories about John Hawkes that has been passed down through the family about how he and his wife protected their homestead and cattle from neighboring ranchers who weren't too fond of this new breed of cattle and the fencing the Mellards constructed to keep them safe and secure.  After Jason's mother reminded us of some of these stories, we knew Hawkes was going to be the name.  His middle name, Lee, is both Jason's and Jason's late father's middle name.  Sophie is a name that goes back many generations in my family, although we didn't know that until after she was born.  Her middle name, Marcella, was my grandmother's middle name.  It feels good to know both Sophie and Hawkes have names that connect them to our families. 

Sophie is smitten with Hawkes and couldn't be sweeter with him.  We've had a few tough moments when she needed one of us and we couldn't be there for her like we would have before Hawkes, but we're figuring it out together.  I'm so grateful to her teachers, friends and parents of classmates who make Sophie feel special. Seeing her with her brother for the first time was truly one of the highlights of our lives and we've had lots of sweet moments since then, like this one.

In other news, things are finally moving along at the new house after a few weeks of delays due to wet weather that prevented the crew from digging footers for the addition.  We finally had a stretch of dry weather, so they're rocking and rolling again although now we have bitterly cold temperatures.  One more unexpected situation came up with the acoustic/popcorn ceilings throughout the original house.  The crews tried several methods of removal to no avail - it seems as though these ceilings were applied with a crazy process that makes them impossible to remove so we will have to cover them rather than scrape or sand them.  We made some progress just before Hawkes arrived with choosing cabinetry and some appliances and we have a great lead on tile and a powder room vanity through Costco of all places.  

I hope to have some new photos to post next week of the progress and some of the products we've found.  Until then, I'm happily holed up at home with Hawkes, getting to know him and sharing lots of snuggles.  I've gotta share one more newborn photo - I think this is Jason's and my favorite.  Somehow both Sophie and Hawkes inherited my crazy feet, so seeing that the photographer captured them was just perfect. 

Finally, I have to say it wasn't lost on us that Hawkes made his debut on the first day of the 2014 legislative session.  Sophie was born on the anniversary of the day Jason and I met at the polls on election day in 2002 so of course Hawkes had to have his own tie to politics in some way!  Until next time...

Last Post of the Year?

I think this will be my last post for 2013.  As soon as I typed those words, it's entirely possible I ensured I will deliver a baby in the next 36 hours and be forced to eat my words when we post a baby update. 

Speaking of baby updates, I don't have much to share except that I am in fact still pregnant!  I have about 10 days til my due date and all is well.  Strangers and near-strangers have generously peppered me with commentary on my size lately, with Jason's and my favorite being "you look like you could pop!"  What a way to describe a pregnant woman.  And how terrifying!  Also at the top of the list "you're really coming along now!" and "you can't get much bigger than that!"  Why, thank you!  

I've been terrible about taking bump pictures, but snapped this one in the pre-dawn hours today.  Huge shout-out to the makers of Puma and Asics running apparel for making ridiculously stretchy clothing that's gotten me through the last 39 weeks.  Although I jogged through my entire pregnancy with Sophie, I switched to walking at 37 weeks this time around when I was dilated to 2-3 cm and not quite ready to get the show on the road.  It's still nice to be able to exercise and work off some stress!

We had a fantastic Christmas and I had a great, happy birthday on 12/24.  Jason taught Sophie to sing Happy Birthday to me, so when I came downstairs (at 7:30, woohoo!) I got a lovely serenade, which we repeated over and over all day!

Sophie has had a lot of practice singing at school and especially thanks to a great program called Music U taught by the awesomely creative Jes Cleland.  Here's a video of the Older Toddler (Sophie's class), Young Preschool and Older Preschool classes singing carols on the McKendree UMC church steps:

I'm a terrible gift-giver.  I know this about myself and I've learned not to stress out about it as much over the years, but I do wish I were better at it! I'm married to a fantastic gift-giver, though.  Sophie and Jason gave me a really beautiful set of rings with all of our birthstones in them - November (Sophie), December (me) and January (Jason) plus Baby Powell, who will either have a December or January birthday.  They're stackable and made locally by a jewelry artist named Judith Bright and I absolutely love them!  Jason also found a really cool necklace by another local artist named Marrah Florita (M. Florita Jewelry) shaped like the State of Tennessee - how appropriate for us! I also received many thoughtful gifts from my parents, in-laws and friends and felt totally under-deserving of all of them but also really excited to feel the love!  

Sophie had a great holiday and received lots of fun gifts, including a new drag queen outfit (or Sleeping Beauty costume, whatever) that she wore until we finally had to force her to remove it and wash it.  

The new house is coming along, too.  Although we were set back a week or so after running into a 14-foot boulder, wet ground and special ordering equipment to break up the boulder, things are progressing!  We were able to move the 10x16 shed out of the way on Saturday to make room for the equipment that will break up the rock, making it possible to finally finish digging out the area where the addition will be constructed.  

View from the bonus room into the former living room / kitchen / sitting room / fireplace - no more wall!

New subfloor

View toward the back of the house - this exterior wall is next to come down

Exterior / future addition site

We were able to look at some finishes and products last week, including kitchen counter tops, cabinets, tile for the master bath and entry/mud room at the back of the house.  We gravitate toward granite companies that have both slab yards and do the fabrication as they're straightforward with pricing and there are no extra steps involved in hiring fabricators to install.  After shopping various solid surfaces, we're still in the granite camp simply because it's so durable, easy to maintain, cost-effective and we've found the look we want.  In the past we've used Brothers & Sons (a local Nashville company) and this time around have found most of what we like at a newer company called MC Granite in East Nashville. We may choose a quartz or marble surface (also available at MC Granite and Brothers & Sons) for our master bath both because we love the look and because it's more cost-effective in a smaller area that won't see as much abuse as our kitchen.  We'll see!  

Although we're leaving the vast majority of the work to professionals, we are doing a few things ourselves, such as removing the wallpaper in the bedroom hallway of the untouched portion of the original house and repainting the three existing bedrooms and two bathrooms.  Jason is off to score and peel wallpaper this week and I hope he's taking some good footage!

I haven't posted much about food lately, but we have really enjoyed the cooler weather and more soups and casseroles that are easy to make and even freeze.  One of my favorites is this tomato basil cheddar soup (can't find the source but I think it was Iowa Girl Eats!):

Tomato, Basil, and Cheddar Soup

• 2 28-oz. cans of diced tomatoes (I used one fire-roasted and one regular)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped (save time and use a bag of frozen chopped onion!)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (we used light sour cream last time)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (grate it fresh - so many fewer preservatives and tastes/melts better)
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped, loosely packed (reduce this amount by about 1/4 if using dried basil)
• 2 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  Over medium heat, add the olive oil to a large pot. Add the chopped onion and allow to cook until tender, about three to four minutes. Add in chopped garlic and cook for an additional two minutes. Pour in the two cans of tomatoes (juice and all) and the vegetable stock. Stir in the basil, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper. Place the lid back onto the pot and allow to simmer ten minutes. At the end, stir in the Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese until well blended. Use either an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup if you prefer a smooth texture. Garnish with chopped basil and grated cheddar cheese if desired.
 
Enjoy!  Happy New Year to you!