2 Months Stats and Ruminations

Otto's already two-months old!


Otto at two months!

And he's growing like a weed! At his two month well-baby appointment, our doctor confirmed what's pretty much obvious to everyone--Otto is a healthy, strapping young boy. He's already 24.75" long (96th percentile) and 14 lbs 9 oz (also 96th percentile), which, while a workout for us, is apparently a little light for his length.


He's already nearly outgrown his Moses basket....



And here you can really tell he's already about half Stella's weight...


People always say he looks very "boy"--I don't know if that's partially due to his size, but he is sturdier looking and broader-chested than Stella was at this age.


Smiley boy!

It's interesting being mother to a boy. Being a feminist, I was really cognizant with Stella about not "over" gendering her or only introducing girly things. She's got blocks and toy cars, and we purposely often got gender neutral colored things (pacifiers, dishes, etc.) even after she was born. I didn't think there was any need for her to be a super girly infant, and I didn't care if sometimes people assumed she was a boy. (And I still find myself being annoyed about little girls being left out of certain baby themes. Why can't little girls also be "rockstars" and have cute guitar-themed PJs?) But there are such stronger norms about boys not being girly. For example, we were trying to introduce the pacifier using some leftover from Stella's newborn days. He seemed to like one best that happened to be girly (a pink heart on the end of it), and we found ourselves discussing how we felt about using it in public or getting something less feminine. It's also interesting how it plays out in the way we talk about/to Otto. He's "little man" versus Stella's "baby girl" and "flirts" when he's smiling. There are probably myriad other tiny ways we telegraph certain expectations about being a boy that are so deeply ingrained in our subconscious that we're not even fully aware of them. It's something I'll be interested in continuing to ponder and examine.

And Otto's just different from Stella, too, in temperment and certain preferences. On the happy side, he seems to be moving towards being a better sleeper than Stella. For the past week or so, he's only woken up once or twice a night, which I hope he keeps up as my return to work is fast approaching which will mean far fewer opportunities to nap and play catch up! And he hasn't taken to a pacifier (which we find a mixed blessing given Stella just gave hers up) but instead seems to want to suck on his fist. He's more content to sit quietly (Stella was constantly in motion), but, like her, he wants to be sitting up or facing out.


Working on finding his thumb/fist


Being held, upright of course, by daddy

It's also been interesting to adjust to being a mother of two instead of just one. I've heard people worry that the second baby gets the short end of the stick. In some ways, I suppose it's true. But I almost feel like I'm a better mother of two than one. With Stella, I sometimes just felt like I had a hard time balancing spending quality time with her and feeling like there were other things I needed to do with my time. With Otto, that's just a fact of life. And because we've been through it before and don't intend on doing the baby thing again, the sweet things are that much sweeter and the less sweet times seem less bad. This time we really do know that it will all be short-lived.


Our two babies! (Of course, Stella needed her time in the photo, too....)

And it's cute to see the two of them starting to develop a relationship. Sure, a lot of times Otto's just along for the ride that is life with Stella, but he's also fascinated by her and will get to experience a lot more as a baby. And I think Stella will love it when he's a little older and more interactive. Yesterday, she was playing peekaboo with him and trying to give him toys to play with.


Along for the ride


Looking up to big sis!

I've got another week and a half of maternity leave. So while things feel like they're well in hand now and we're getting a good handle on this family of four thing, we're all about to have a new adjustment as I go back to work and Tyler starts his paternity leave with the growing, amazing Otto!

2 and 3/4s

When Stella turned two, she enjoyed having cupcakes and seeing friends (if she also found it a little overwhelming when suddenly everyone was singing and looking at her). About three months later, she got really interested in my birthdays--a bit unfortunate since her birthday was then a *long* ways away. So we've been talking about how far off her birthday is for awhile now (after Mommy, before Daddy) and it occurred to me that while we still tell people she's 2 1/2, she's getting closer and closer to being a three-year-old. So while Otto's been going spotty and smiley and cooing, this is what Stella's been up to.


Stella at the beach, looking so happy and carefree!

As she has been for awhile, Stella continues to be very independent. She picks out her own clothes and dresses herself and has strong opinions about what to wear. And lately that only includes dresses and skirts, sometimes in exciting color and pattern combinations.


Red and white polka dot dress, striped tights and blue plaid shoes? Yes, please!


the glasses are upside down, but at least the shoes are on the right feet!


Shirt, skirt and mommy's shoes were the choice this day


She's also discovered the little girl drug called Disney Princesses, which might have some relation to the wearing of skirts and dresses. Now she wants long hair "like a princess." Since seeing "Tangled," it's also long hair to the floor that goes "around and around and around." (We've tried explaining that this will make her least favorite part of bathtime--combing her hair--that much harder to no avail.) I don't think her first haircut will be coming anytime soon!


A new favorite dress with the appropriate accessories--nametag beads turned necklace and bracelets, and, of course, long hair


She's also full of songs--songs she's learned from school (Mary had a little lamb, baa baa black/green/pink/etc. sheep, skinamarinky dinky dink, etc.) and, increasingly, those she makes up to fit the occasion at hand. (Hello, Tyler genes!)

She's also expressing more of her creativity and doing make believe--I'm the princess, and she's the queen (again with the princesses!), creating elaborate picnics for all of us in the living room, and setting up her tent for all of us to sleep in, with blankets and stuffed animals for each of us, including Otto!


Picnic for me and Stella


Then she created picnics for Tyler and Otto, too, recognizing that Otto doesn't really need much food yet (in the foreground)

She's also more interested in what's going on around her. A regular refrain to Tyler and I is, "What are you talking about?"

And, excitingly, she is now soothie (aka pacifier) free! We'd been a bit reluctant to make the break, given the arrival of Otto, but it was definitely time. While on our weekend away at Pacific Beach (more on that soon!), she'd bitten a big hole in her soothie and had to go without for a day and night. And this was getting to be a regular occurrence, and a further sign that she was too old for them. We gave her the last one, as promised, when we returned home and told her to be careful with it if she wanted it for any length of time. I think that she must have been ready to give it up, because the next day she gave it to me and told me to throw it away and that was that. The first night was the hardest as far as crying up and waking up in the middle of the night. The second day she cried a bit at nap and bedtime, but it was better than I expected in that she didn't ask for it umpteen times throughout the day. But by the third day it was over, and I think she also felt really pround of herself.


No more pictures like this--woo-hoo!!

Stella continues to do really well as an older sister. She's gotten less jealous than she was at first and has really incorporated Otto into her little world. When he cries, she'll try and help with blankets or his own soothie (even thought he's not so interested).


Another blessing for Stella being independent--she's adjusted well to the new scene of a slightly distracted Mommy

We'll have another milestone in a few days--she's moving up at her Montessori child care from the toddler room to preschool proper. This will mean a new teacher, a new room, and new kids. We're excited for her, but I feel like I'm getting a peek at how I'll feel when she starts kindergarten. Is there more I should be doing to prepare her? Will she handle the transition OK? Is she really ready?

So that's our daughter! Still the loving, somewhat sensitive, cautious, happy, independent, well-behaved girl who's been in our lives for almost three years! Especially in comparison to Otto, she seems so grown up, yet it occurred to me for all the time and energy that have gone into these years, she probably won't remember any of it!


Beachcombing find for our little girl!

Baby Acne and Baby Smiles and Baby Sounds (updated)

I have not remembered the exact timing of all of Stella's developmental milestones (thank goodness for the blog version of the traditional baby book!), but one I did remember for Otto was that baby acne would likely hit right around four weeks. And why was this less than pleasant baby phase so memorable? Well, Stella's birthday is November 25th, which meant that she was one month at Christmas. Of course, we still thought she was very cute, but she was sporting a teenage complexion and a middle-aged man do for all the holiday photos:


Her head is covered up, but here's Stella out in the snow around 4 weeks old

So I knew with Otto to be prepared. And it did come. Maybe with slightly less vengeance than with his sister, but he's been spotty for a few weeks.


Otto seems to be taking all this baby acne in stride

And really it's no big deal. It will go away and we'll stop having to warn people meeting him for the first time that he's not as his most dapper. Plus, now we get real, honest-to-goodness smiles!


Luckily caught one of Otto's smiles on camera!

In addition to the smiles, we're getting more alertness and facial expressions, like this one which seems to convey, "What the heck are my parents subjecting me to now?!"



Yesterday while trying to crank this out during a quiet moment, I also forgot about the new sounds and noises Otto is making! More than expressions, we're now getting "goo"s and other cute little sounds as he interacts with us.

Now we're hitting the six week growth spurt, eating marathon. Can't believe only one more month before I go back to work!

First Month with Otto

Newborn time: cycling between eating, burping, getting a diaper change and sleeping. I'd forgotten how being in the middle of that schedule makes time move differently and makes it harder to get anything done (while at the same time not always feeling like I'm doing much.) But this morning Otto is having a little snooze, and of the many things I could try and get done, and as Otto's a month old today, a blog entry seemed fitting.


One month already--it doesn't feel like that much time has passed....

So many things have been different this time around. Otto's birth was really different. Tyler shared the basics before, but this time we were in the hospital longer, the labor was a little longer but the intense time was much less. And after Otto was born we were, as expected, as in love with him as possible. But it didn't feel so new this time. Rather, it felt as if now things were somehow complete. We now had the two healthy children we were hoping for and it felt right and natural to add him to the family.


Otto with an adoring daddy!

It's also been easier to do the newborn stuff. Breastfeeding? No problem. Crying jags at night? Now we know it won't last forever, and we have better soothing skills. Gassiness? I already know the likely culprits to cut out of my diet. Getting out and about? Piece of cake.


Taking a snooze after a little snack!


Otto's first bath--just as relaxed as his sister used to be!

I'm also being smarter about making sure I get sleep this time, which cures a whole host of ills I experience when over-tired (including being irritable, anxious and easily overwhelmed). We know this time that this is a marathon, not a sprint, so we're happy for any help we can get, any time anybody wants to spend holding Otto and sleeping whenever I need it and can get away with it. And Tyler and I do more dividing and conquering. When Stella was a baby, we both would be up at night for feedings and diaper changes. Now that Tyler's back at work, I let him sleep as much as possible, and he does the same in the mornings or weekends when I need to play catch up.

I think I'm also helped this time by having a toddler who still needs schedule and routine. Stella's still in childcare four days a week, so I get a nice mix of morning and evening time with her with our usual activities (dinner, bed time, making pancakes, etc.) and then I have my four days with Otto that can be a lot of nothing if need be.

And Stella's been adjusting about as well as a 2 1/2-year-old can probably be expected to. She generally seems to like Otto, giving him blankets, talking about being a big sister, sometimes asking to hold him and taking turns doing things like laying on the play mat.


Holding hands! Stella got so much positive attention this time when she first did it that it's become a regular thing for her to do.


Sharing bath toys during Otto's first bath


Being part of the birthday fun! (She's very anxious for her next birthday)


Multitasking--brushing Stella's teeth while giving Otto some tummy time


The biggest challenge is the jealousy over me feeding Otto. Almost as soon as I'm holding Otto, she wants to be in my lap. Now.


We took this because Stella was getting jealous of us taking photos of Otto, but it turned out so cute I just had to include it here too.


I worried before Otto was born that being a second baby would mean an early babyhood overshadowed by his sister. But we are just as enamored with him as Stella, and in some ways he might be getting less of our undivided attention (and there probably are fewer photos and videos), but he's probably getting better quality attention since we're more relaxed and experienced this go around.

And because we still think Stella's pretty cute, I wanted to include these shots:


At the Samoan festival, happily running back from throwing away some trash!


Tyler and Stella as moody French film stars

Six Years

I know that most of you are waiting for more pictures and stories about Otto (and believe me, they're coming), but I wanted to do a quick entry about another person who I'm constantly in love with and in awe of: Sarah!

...since today marks our 6th Wedding Anniversary!

In past years, we've marked our wedding with cards, renewed vows, remarkable dinners or, of course, travel. But, while having a 4-week-old and a 2-year-old might make some of those things a bit ambitious, I thought I'd at least take the time to make this quick post to mention -yet again- how much I love my fabulous wife.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first picture of Sarah and I together, snapped by someone's Polaroid camera at a random party just a month or two after we started dating. If for no other reason, it will always be a favorite of mine, and the original hangs in the hallway of our house.

And it begins! Our wedding day! (Fun fact: You can see our friend, Alison, adjusting Sarah's dress on the right. Her son, Oliver, was born two days before Otto!)

Sarah and I on our honeymoon! (Regular readers will recognize this as our "profile picture" in the upper right corner.) We took the ferry our of Bellingham up to Southeast Alaska. It was an amazing experience, and one we largely credit for the reason we decided to go on our Round the World trip together.

Our second Wedding Anniversary, in Istanbul, while on our trip. While it's been years now, that trip was still one of the defining moments of our lives and -specifically- our lives together. If you can survive marathon bus rides, strange stomach bugs and questionable accommodations together for 7 months, it leaves no doubt that you can survive anything.

Stella's birth... still one of the most amazing experiences of my life. And, along with watching her through Otto's birth, I will forever be in awe of what she's capable of.

And, finally, recently, Sarah with Stella and Otto. Sarah is my amazing wife, but both Stella and Otto are lucky to have her as their amazing mother.

...Which brings us, briefly, to today. I'd be lying if I didn't say that things haven't been exhausting recently. A newborn and a toddler live to come up with new ways of making adults tired. But, I couldn't hope to have someone better to be exhausted with. Knowing Sarah for these last 7+ years, and being married to her for the last 6, has been one long lesson in the best sense of the word: I've learned how much I'm capable of loving someone else. I've learned to explore the world and to embrace food and life. I've learned how much I could love the two small people we've brought into this world. I've learned compassion and learned strength, and how to treat others with dignity and respect. I've learned all these things and more because I've had someone to inspire me: Sarah.

I love you, Sarah, Happy 6th Anniversary!

Otto's Arrival!

Last Sunday, July 17th, at 2:55pm, our family had it's newest edition arrive: Otto Allen Hill-Stach! Otto weighs in a 9lbs, 1oz, and is 21 inches long and is, well, amazing.

I'm sure that Sarah will want to tell the birth story in more detail at a later date, but here are some rough details for those of you who are interested: Her labor started around 12:30am, and we headed in to the hospital around 3:30. From there things progressed steadily, until they stalled out a little before noon, with Sarah dilated at 8 centimeters. Around 1:30, the mid-wife suggested breaking her water to help move things along, and -once broken- things progressed very rapidly, with Otto making his appearance at 2:55pm after only 10 minutes of pushing.

Like Stella's birth, Sarah managed the whole thing with out any sort of pain medication and amazed not just me, but also the nurses and mid-wife, who were heard commenting things like: "Can you believe she's at 8cm, and still walking around and talking like this?" I am, again, amazed and inspired by her.

Anyhow, on to the baby photos!

The man himself! (Or should I say "Otto-man"?) What a handsome fella! It's amazing how much different he looks than Stella, he's very much his own little person.

Stella meets Otto. It's crazy to think that these two little people will likely spend their entire lives hanging out together and being best friends. And, here they are, just meeting.

Stella seems to really like Otto overall. There have been a couple moments since his arrival, that you could tell she's a little jealous of the attention he receives and the amount of time he spends on mom's lap, but overall, she seems to really like her "baby brother Oddo."

Sarah looking stunning the day after giving birth. Anyone who believes the stereotypes that men are strong while women are prone to tears should watch Sarah and I in the delivery room.

The Birthing Room, with my parents and Otto on the left. I thought I'd include this so I could mention a little piece of trivia: This was also the same room that Stella was born in, and both Stella and Otto ended up being delivered by the same mid-wife. Continuity!

Anyhow, I'll end this by saying that we are all happy and excited to be settling into our new life as a family of four. Someone asked me the other day, if I felt a sense of pride because I have a boy now, and I while I sort of go back and forth on that (since, honestly, I would have been just as excited about having another girl); I will say that I feel sort of a sense of completion now. Both Sarah and I have always imagined ourselves with two children, and now we have them. We've arrived at our imagined goal... and now, we are all looking forward to our shared future opening up to us, together as a family.

But, first, I probably need to check to see if Otto needs his diaper changed.