2 1/2 years ago we celebrated Max’s 1 week birthday with cupcakes.
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We decided to do the same when Julie turned 1 week old.   
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Max helped his sister blow out the candle. 
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He was also happy to eat the cupcake for her. Max is wearing his new favorite t-shirt, a present from Julie, with the Lolly adverb dealers from a beloved Schoolhouse Rock video,
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Julie has changed so much since she’s been born. She’s a little more awake and alert each day, but it’s still hard to get a photo when she’s not sleeping or eating. Here she is at four days old.
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| Click here for more photos |
Julie’s 1 Week Birthday
May 21st, 2012Mother’s Day
May 18th, 2012
For Brittney’s first Mother’s Day with two kids, Mark and Max (with the help of Aunt Ashly) made yummy pancakes while the girls slept in. Mr. Potato Head, who often dines with us, also had some.
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Max was more interested in playing with his choo-choos with Ashly than breakfast. 
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Then we had a family photo shoot in the bedroom.   
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Max got a book about being a big brother to read to his sister.    
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He helped open all the Mother’s Day cards. 
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Julie is very comfy in her Aunt’s arms.  
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That afternoon Max showed Julie (in the sling on Mark) his favorite animals at the Natural History Museum.
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Max and Mark had lots of daddy-son outings last week, walking around favorite neighborhood spots like Lincoln Center, where they ran into Ashly and Edie.  
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| Now Mark is back at work but we have his mom in town helping out and giving Max and Julie lots of love. So far Julie is a great eater and sleeper, going in consistent 3-4 hour stretches between feedings at night. At her 5-day-old pediatrician’s appointment she was back up to 7 lbs 4 oz. Max has his clingy moments but has been adapting pretty well and (usually) likes having the baby around. Brittney has gotten good at nursing while playing choo-choos and doing other activities with Max. |
Julie’s Homecoming
May 14th, 2012
We only had to stay in the hospital for two nights, during which Mark brought Brittney lots of yummy food and liked holding his little girl.
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Bubbe emailed us this picture of Max – think they’re related?
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Bundled up for the walk home.  
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We celebrated our Julie’s homecoming with a dinner at a local Middle Eastern restaurant with our helpers for the week, Aunt Ashly, Great-Aunt Ruth and Great-Uncle Stan. Max loved having so many choices of hands to hold on the walk there. 
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Julie was a well-behaved restaurant baby, sleeping quietly through all of the meal. (So far she is a sleeping champ, usually falling asleep as soon as we put her in the bassinet and going 3-4 hours between feedings at night). Max was excited to discover there was a baby sitting next to him.   
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| We’re having lots of fun getting adjusted to our new family. Max’s new favorite phrase is ‘more baby,’ he likes looking at her and helping with diaper changes. More photos coming soon! |
It’s A Girl!
May 12th, 2012|
Born May 7th, 2012, 7:34 am 7 lbs 8 oz, 19 ½ inches  
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Meeting mommy. She was very loud and got a 9 out of 10 Apgar score (assessment of a newborn’s health).
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After everyone got cleaned up, she checked mommy out with one eye.
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Max was having lots of fun with his Aunt Ashly and Great-Aunt Ruth. That afternoon they all came to meet Julie. Max and his sister exchanged some presents.   
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She finally woke up to snuggle with Aunt Ashly. 
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We are so in love.
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Our happy family of four. 
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Blowing kisses to his sister. 
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24 hours old, and oh so adorable.
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| For those of you who want the play-by-play of the labor: |
| Brittney felt like something might be happening Sunday night, but managed to sleep for a few hours before contractions really started around 1 am. She let Mark sleep until around 4 am, when the contractions were every 4-5 minutes. |
| By the time Aunt Ashly came over to watch Max and we got ourselves ready and to the hospital (which is fortunately only 8 blocks away) around 4:45 am, contractions were pretty intense and almost non-stop. Took us a while to get into the admissions room and measured at 5 cm dilated. Wimpier or wiser than last time, Brittney was very ready for an epidural, but we didn’t get into a delivery room and track down an anesthesiologist until around 6:30. At the point fully dilated and very happy with her drugs, Brittney waited for the head to drop then started pushing around 7:25 am. 9 minutes and 3 pushes later we had a beautiful baby girl. |
| We are all home and healthy and having lots of fun getting to know our little angel. She is a great sleeper and eater and pretty chill. Max has for the most part been a very sweet, helpful big brother. More photos and details coming soon! |
| Click here for more photos |
Almost There…
May 6th, 2012
No signs of labor as we approach our due date on Tuesday. The doctor has been concerned about low amniotic fluid and talked about inducing but after multiple tests at the hospital we are ok (6.5 cm of fluid, and 1-2 cm dilated for those of you interested in numbers) and waiting for the baby to decide the time, at least for now. Since Max came a week before his due date, we were sure this baby would also be early, and hence have had some free time lately. Brittney and Mark got one last night out at a benefit for Max’s preschool. Baby is low and large!
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Getting ready to go to the hospital on Friday for the fluid test and possible induction. 
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We’re enjoying lots of one-on-one time with Max, doing fun things like sample art classes where Max was very excited to paint shapes (with the help of the teacher).   
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Fortunately Max is pretty good at entertaining himself too, playing with his train set, doing puzzles, and reading The Economist. 
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It’s hard sometimes to know what’s going on in that crazy cute toddler head, but he seems ready to be a big brother. 
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| We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Aunt Ashly with some spicy Mexican food to help move things along and the Mexican hat dance. |