We love Jaja!!

Mom H (Jaja) was here for two weeks after Mattias's birth. Amazingly, she arrived the very day that Mattias was born, even though she had purchased her flights in advance when we were just hoping that Tuesday, Oct 28th would work out for a good arrival. Or maybe I mentioned that already in the last post...but really, isn't that cool?!

Mom of course was a huge help and encouragement during her visit. Most days she kept very busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, always with 2 or 3 pots on the stove going at the same time and maybe some bread baking in the oven too. I only wish we could have purchased an extra freezer so that we would have had more room for more food!! We quickly ate up all the bread and dahl and now she needs to come back and make more for us! In between all that cooking, she also managed to do all our laundry, play and read with Timo (including an hour every morning when he woke up so I could sleep in longer), do grocery shopping, take a few neighborhood walks, and help out at the two doctor's appointments we had to go to in the first two weeks. 

Walking down to a neighborhood park. It was Mattias's 1st time in the carrier. We had great weather while Jaja was here!

Jaja did her best to teach Timo how to ROLL the balls instead of throw them around the house...

Meanwhile, this is what Mattias and I were up to.

We had great autumn weather almost every day that Mom was here. It really helped us all in our energy levels to be able to play outside or go for short walks. But then the day that Mom left, we woke up to very cold temps and lots of snow! We got 6 inches of snow that day, but fortunately Mom was still able to catch all her flights and not get stuck in Colorado.

View from our porch, across our front yard and down the street

Bye, Jaja! We love you!

Brothers

Big brother and little brother are getting to know each other... Timo is already asking after his brother when he gets up in the morning, and whenever he hears Mattias making noise and waking up, he says "baby" and goes to find him in his crib and peer over the side. Of course, there have been plenty of eye-poking and tantrums for more attention by the older brother, so we are working on that - but still we are amazed and awed by the fact that we now have two boys in the house!!

This is Timo's thoughtful face. He was very gentle and careful holding his brother on this occasion.

First bath for Mattias, and for the boys together! Naturally Timo got lots of splashing in. Mattias was totally content and calm the entire time.

 

Also - Mattias is two weeks old today (Tuesday, Nov 11th)!! Yesterday he had his two week check-up at the pediatrician, and he has already grown an inch and gained 10 ounces since birth!

The exploits of Mattias - first days home

Home together! With Jaja here for two weeks to help. The weather outside has been lovely - typical cool fall weather, so Jaja has been cooking up all kinds of great food and we have been hanging out at home. Jim gets 10 days of paternity leave from work (which he will split between now and next month), so he is home until next Tuesday.

Down to business right away: reading books together.

Timo's new wagon that Jaja brought - in her suitcase - for his 2nd birthday!

And down to business with Jaja - making rolls!

Hey, there's a tiny bundle in that sling!

The Exploits of Mattias - The Beginning!

Tuesday, October 28th: the birthday of our 2nd son, Mattias Jack!

7 lb, 14 oz. Born at 7:58 PM.

Tuesday morning I had my 39 week appointment with the Doctor, and soon after that appointment my labor started to finally kick in and not let up (after two weeks with a lot of stops and starts), so we checked into the hospital around noon. Jim's cousin Thea took care of Timo, while another friend picked Mom H up from the airport. She had planned last month to arrive on this day, hoping it would be at a good time - and it turned out to be the perfect day for her to arrive! We checked into the hospital midway through the labor process so we would have plenty of time to get situated and be prepared once the baby came. (We - and the doctor - were a bit wary after Timo's birth, which happened only 25 minutes after arriving to hospital...)

Our good friend Fiona was with us for the entirety of the labor and delivery. She is a trained doula and was absolutely amazing at helping me to relax and stay focused when I got tired and later at the end when the contractions became intense. She also played a critical role in assisting when the pushing started and Mattias arrived so quickly! By the end of the labor, contractions progressed very fast and suddenly I was ready to push - Fiona ran out to get the staff, and the nurses and Doctor had to rush in with barely a minute before he was born! It was 7:58 pm.

A belly shot! Soon after we checked in (labor was still very manageable). Fiona is due with her 3rd daughter in a few weeks!

First bath. He cried of course but was calm afterwards.

Since Mattias was born in the evening, Mom and Timo waited until the following Wednesday morning to come to the hospital to meet him.

Hurray, Jaja is here!

We took a few minutes to intentionally introduce Timo to his baby brother and talk about what had happened. Timo was holding a car to show Mattias, and then he waved "Hi" to him and wanted to touch his head, his fingers and his eyes. Then Timo was off to jump on the couch and run around the hospital with Daddy.

That evening our friends Andrea and Parker visited us and got to meet Mattias.

And now we are ready to leave! After our second night in the hospital, we were discharged the following morning and were home in time for lunch on Thursday. Mattias cried when we put him in the car seat and of course had a wet diaper that leaked all over the place, but he was calm and quiet in the car until we got home. It felt great to be home and think back over the last weeks of waiting for his birth-day and wondering how it would go. In the end, it was so smooth and we are very, very thankful for a safe birth and a healthy son!