1 week

We survived week one...of course we still have a three grown-ups to three kid ratio thanks to Grandma.
Riker had an appointment with Dr. Hall and so far we get to keep him. He's gown 1/4 of an inch, and we need 12 oz by next week to be back up to his birth weight. Heart and lungs are great and Dr. Hall said he's very glad that my tubes are tied because its very stressful delivering my huge babies who hate to breath.

Riker seems to be a pretty content little Dude. He eats about every 4 hours, excepts in the late evening when he'd rather eat non-stop. He sleeps very well almost anywhere in the house and doesn't seem to be bothered by the noise of Maeli and Tucker living here. He hates having his diaper changed and seems to be very sensitive to the cold of wipes. He has a pretty strong neck and likes to check out his surroundings. He poops a ton and likes to chew on any of his fingers. So far, we really like him and I think we'll keep him for a while.

I'm doing very well too. Dr. Hall took a look at my incision and all is well. I'm feeling pretty good, which I attribute entirely to the fact that Gramma has taken the night-shift every night since we got home from the hospital. I wake up to find a hungry Riker all changed and ready to eat. I'm down to just Ibuprofen once or twice a day, so I think that's pretty good. I today I put on some fat-girl pants instead of maternity pants, so I think that's pretty good too.

Miss Maeli...

I was eating my breakfast and heard Maeli saying her letters, and then in the middle she said "chicken" then more letters, and then "pig butt" I turned around and she had all of our leapfrog magnets from the letter factory and the farm and lined up on the washing machine. There was indeed, some chicken and the second part of the pig in the middle of her letters. She's so funny sometimes.

Lets Wrestle!

Dad invited the battle by laying on the floor. Tucker waits until he's unsuspecting, and then pounces like a cheetah.
Maeli jumps in to tag team, just as Tucker is bounced off of Dad's shoulder.
Who will win?
I think we have to declare Tucker the Ultimate Champion, but he was a gracious winner and gave his opponent a big kiss.

Bath Time

After a while, we got to thinking that maybe this boy needed another bath (he had one in the hospital)...especially after some serious kisses from his big brother. He wasn't really a big fan of the actual bath part of things.He did like being snuggled up in a towel though...all my babies used this towel...sigh.
All clean! A little self-soothing while mom get some clothes on this boy.

Siblings

Tucker is so crazy about his brother. He just wants to snuggle him all the time. Unfortunately, Tucker's snuggles involve laying on his head, and kisses are a full open-mouthed slime fest somewhere on Riker's face. But the boys are so darn cute together.And here's Tucker trying to climb into the baby chair to give Riker a little snuggle. We quickly decided this chair is for night-time, and when Tucker is napping.A few failed attempts and it would seem that Tucker is unable to get into the baby swing. But he's always keeping a close eye, and often re-tries to swing with his brother.
Maeli has taken on the role of silent protector. She always bringing Riker a toy (hence the Piglet) or a blanket (hence the purple) or telling Tucker to get a way from "the new baby." She doesn't like it at all when he's hungry, or sad and always blames Tucker for disrupting the peace (which is often accurate).

Homecoming

Jeremy got Riker all ready to come home from the hospital. He picked the outfit that we got from his sister Dannell, which was actually the outfit we were going to bring Tucker home in, but then didn't have it with us in Spokane. Riker looks pretty spiffy though. We could have stayed at the hospital until Thursday, but I figured we might as well come home and face the inevitable craziness of the McLain household.
He was sleeping so nicely, he didn't even know what was about to happen...
Maeli had been anxiously anticipating our arrival since Dad dropped her and Tucker off after school. She was so excited to see her new brother at home that she tried to pick him up out of the car seat before Jeremy even had time to unbuckle him.
Tucker came a runin' to see what all the fuss was about. I think at first he was just super excited to see Jeremy and me at home.
Then we had to start the turn taking so that everyone could get the snuggles out of their system and poor Riker could get back to his nap.

Best Dad Ever

Jeremy has been trying to give the big kids some extra attention. I'm not exactly sure how this scenario came to pass, but I've never seen Maeli so excited. I'm so blessed to have a husband who loves being a Daddy.


I love when Jeremy reads to the kids...he's all gusto and funny voices. Sometimes I think he likes it even more than the kids do.

Maeli's Wisdom

"I'm not weird...I'm beautiful. Only boys, Daddy is weird, and Tucker is weird. Girls are not weird."

Hospital Highlights

It looks like we're going to be heading home later today, so I thought I better post something before we get into "check-out" mode and things get crazy. Here are some of the Riker's favorite moments of life so far.

First snuggle with Mom

First Diaper with Dad

Big Snuggles with Dad
Meeting Maeli who will be sneaking Riker all kinds of treats because she's very aware that crying means he's hungry...No Maeli, Riker is too little for doughnut holes.
Meeting Tucker who was very intrigued for a few minutes and then moved on to destroying the hospital as quickly as possible.
Finding his thumb!
More diapers with Dad
We got some good sleep again last night, so we're feeling up to heading home to the craziness. Jeremy and I are going to have our "special dinner" for lunch and probably head out after 2:00 or so.

Good Day

Doing good. Grandma got some snuggles, kids are coming tonight. Dad is back from work so mom is going to try and take a nap.