Family Photos by Todd Westphal

Already August? How did that happen?

Okay, so I'm a bad mother and blog-keeper and its been way too long since I've updated. We just celebrated Brice's 20 month mark and Sloane's six month birthday. It is absolutely amazing how quickly they have both grown up. I'll admit that sometimes it makes me laugh and other times it makes me want to shed a tear. So let's get to the updates, yes?

We haven't had a doctor's appointment for Brice recently, but at his 18 month check up he topped the scales at 30lbs and 34.5 inches. Dr. Lialios predicted that Brice will be at least 6'2" by the time he's fully grown. Scary to think of him being such a big guy! Brice has already made the transformation from a baby into quite the little man. This summer our number one activity has been swimming. He absolutely loves the pool and can spend countless hours jumping in off the side, blowing bubbles and going up and down the steps. His love of the water also keeps us on our toes as he is completely fearless and hasn't yet realized that he has no idea how to swim. Needless to say, we have signed him up for swimming lessons starting in September and we hope that by the time we head down to Florida in November, he'll be doggy paddling along.

Brice is also finding his words, which is so much fun for me. We still enjoy reading our favorite books and now Brice reads along, pointing out the tree in "Runaway Bunny", the cheese in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and the baby that looks like his sister in "Everywhere Babies." When I got home from work today, Brice ran up to me, wrapped his arms around my legs and said, "I gotcha!" We've also filled his vocabulary with some random words just to keep things lively... its amazing to hear him say octopus or "awwww man!"

Sloane is also growing like a weed. At her six month doctor's appointment she weighed in at 18lbs, 10oz and was almost 28 inches long putting her in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. She's sitting up on her own and rolling from back to front and front to back. She's also teething like none other. We're still awaiting the arrival of her first teeth and we've determined that its a race between the toppers and the bottomers.

We've had a great summer so far and selfishly, its been my favorite in three years since for once, I'm not pregnant. We've spent some time in New York City going to the Central Park Zoo and visiting friends and we've traveled down to Ocean City for some beach time while we visited the Ladd Family. Joel and I have managed to take in a few date nights too, hitting up the Arcade Fire concert at MSG and seeing the Green Day Broadway show. On one of our post-work walks this week, Joel and I determined that we don't have much to complain about. Sure, we're overworked and underslept but we have a wonderful, healthy family and so much life to live.

So, I promise I'll try to be better about updating with greater regularity. Stay tuned for some updated photos!

Photos: Sloane at 9 weeks and Brice at 16 months

Brice at 16 months and Sloane at 9 weeks on vacation in Florida.
Daddy and Brice taking a stroll at the beach.

Sloane enjoying the bouncy seat in the sun.

Loving the sand and the waves.
Brice training to be a future Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
Sloane's big hair and big blues.
Brice rocking the noodle poolside.

Welcome Home Harvills.

I realized its been quite awhile since I last updated. We just got back from a fantastic trip down to Florida to visit my parents. Brice and Sloane loved the pool, beach, park, playground and zoo. Joel and I even had the chance to go out for a nice dinner on the town. We're finally feeling like human beings again. We've got some tan on our cheeks (the ones on our face, of course) and a couple of nights of great sleep have (temporarily) removed the bags under our eyes. My parents were great with the kids... it was so nice watching them all play together!

Today I took Sloane for her 2 month check up with Dr. Lialios. At just over 9 weeks, she is now 13 lbs and 23 inches long putting her in the 95th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Dr. Lialios was pleased with her development and she even showed off by holding her head up and giggling. I have to say, Sloane is really shocking us every day. On average, she sleeps 5-6 hours at a clip during the night and one night during our vacation she actually slept from 10pm-7am. I have to believe that this wonderful sleep is payback for the months of sleepless nights that we endured with Brice (or simply setting us up for years of torment when she hits those tough teenage years).

Brice is really growing like a weed as well. He's gone from cute baby to sweet little boy. In the last couple of weeks he's started saying a few words. Mama, Dada, ball, woof woof (for dog), vroom (for car), growl (for bear), shoes, baby (for Sloane) and of course the all important NO are among his favorites. We're working on car, banana, monkey (he does make monkey noises) and a few others. He babbles constantly though, so its pretty funny to carry on a conversation with him. These days he's really into his cars, coloring with crayons (sometimes on paper but most frequently on our hardwood floors) and reading his books. His favorites are Brown Bear, The Hungry Caterpillar, Everywhere Babies and Goodnight Moon. We read them over and over each night so I'm practicing my skills at memorization and animal noises. We've also been doing a lot of swimming and Brice is already comfy blowing bubbles and putting his head under water.

I'm sad to report that I'm returning to work in just over two weeks. I've really enjoyed my maternity leave and it will be hard to leave my sweet babies at home again. I keep telling myself that I've worked hard for my career and I should be happy to go back as it will make me really appreciate the time that I get to spend with Brice and Sloane on the weekends and at night, but I can't help but feel a bit teary when I think that someone else will be getting to spend all the fun playtime with them during the day. Perhaps we'll win the lottery and we can quit work and move someplace with perpetual sun! Ah, we can dream.

Two Week Update: Harvill South Arrives and Our First Playdate

We've survived the first two weeks. My theory is that at this point, the Mayor of New Babyville should show up at our house and present us with some sort of medal or award (or perhaps a magnum of champagne). Somehow, Joel and I have made it through without argument, home destruction or massive bags under our eyes. I even survived my first night of handling both kids solo. Okay, so I plopped them both down on the couch and turned on Yo Gabba Gabba but hey, you do what you have to in order to get by. Sloane is sleeping and eating well. Brice is sleeping and eating per usual and is a magnificent big brother. We've entertained family and friends and even made it to a few doctor's appointments.

The two week stats on Sloane: She weighed in at 9lbs, 7oz and is now 20 and 1/4 inches long putting her in the 85th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Dr. Lialios was pleased with her development, muscle tone and alertness and told me that I have a very relaxed baby. Who would have thunk it?

Here are some new photos:

Sloane showing off her long limbs.
Baby Abbie and Sloane enjoying their first playdate. These little girlies are 5 days apart and Leila and I are determined to make them BFFs.
Sweet photo of Daddy and Sloane in one of her few non-pink outfits (yes, Mommy bought this one).
Post bath relaxation.
Sloane and Aunt AJ taking a nap.
Brice thinks Daddy is the coolest toy in the house.
Brice catching a quick snuggle with Aunt Meredith.
Brice on the go... as usual.

Week one photos

Tummy time!
Stretching out.
Tunnel time! Daddy's best purchase yet!
Tunnel makes for static-head.
Looking sweet (and sleepy).

What you come here to see... the photos!

Joel rocking his funky outfit!
Showing off the fully baked belly.
Sloane Laura Harvill, born February 8, 2010 at 1:40pm and weighing 8lbs, 7oz and 20 inches.
Proud father and daughter.
Mommy looking exhausted but happy.
Our sweet girl blowing kisses.
Big brother Brice and little sister Sloane enjoying a snuggle on the couch.

The Happy Harvill Household is Complete!

Apologies for the delay in updating. Needless to say, juggling two children and visiting family members has taken up more time (and energy) than I anticipated!

Sloane Laura Harvill made her appearance on February 8, 2010 at 1:40pm. Our "little" girl weighed in at 8lbs and 7oz and was 20 inches long.

Joel and I went in to this labor and delivery experience anticipating all the things that could possibly go wrong on my end. The c-section would come with complications for me, I would be in more pain the second time around, I would have a reaction to the anesthesia. In all of our discussions, we had never entertained the idea that something would go wrong with our baby. Let me back up and give you the birth story:

We got to the hospital around 11am on February 8 and got set up in the very same room where we waited for the c-section with Brice. The nurses took some blood, hooked me up to several bags of IV fluids and put monitors on my belly to monitor little H2. We were quickly able to see that I was having contractions about every 5 minutes. I knew that I was having contractions, but in the nervous excitement of the morning activity, I wasn't timing or paying attention. By 1pm, Dr. Pendyala came in and told us that we were ready to go. Joel once again donned his fancy outfit (still form fitting and see through) and I walked down the hall to the operating room. Joel waited outside as the anesthesiologist put in the spinal block and within 10 minutes the doctors were in and we got started. I will say that this time around I was more relaxed and chatty. We even started a pool amongst the doctors and nurses as to how big we thought H2 was going to be. The average size was about 8lbs even.

At 1:40pm, Dr. Pendyala told Joel to get ready. All I could hear was the doctors and nurses exclaiming how long her legs were and how big her feet were. I couldn't believe it when they brought her around the curtain. Sloane was so big and beautiful... my heart melted all over again. The nurses took her to clean her off and Joel went to take some pictures and check in on our lovely little girl. This is where the unexpected became reality.

Her first cry sounded more like a gurgle. The doctors let me know that she was a "juicy" baby in that, because she had not entered the birth canal, she has a lot of amniotic fluid in her lungs that had not been squeezed out. They suctioned her nose and her throat several times, but the finally had to administer oxygen to get her pinked up. After several minutes, they took the oxygen away, but Sloane turned blue a second and third time. The nurse finally made a decision to take her to the NICU so Joel went along as they brought her down the hall. I was keenly aware that something wasn't right... the experience differed greatly from Brice's birth where they brought him over to snuggle with me and Joel while they finished the section. I knew that Joel would go and get the information so I was awaiting his return.

Dr. Pendyala closed me up and I was transferred to the recovery room to wait and be monitored. Joel came in and gave me the update. Sloane was having problems breathing on her own. They put her in an incubator and she was on 80% oxygen. The goal was to get her down to room oxygen levels at 21%. I told him to go back to the NICU and stay with her so he did. Despite the chaos, Joel remained calm and matter of fact, something that helped me refrain from completely freaking out.

The hour seemed to drag on but finally I was sent to my room to wait. The doctors were still working on her and they instructed me to wait to go and see her until that evening. Throughout the day her situation improved and by 7pm, Joel went home to put Brice to bed, eat something and wait. At 10pm he came back and the nurses got me in a wheelchair so that I could go down to the NICU to see my little girl. It was so hard seeing her hooked up to the IVs and oxygen but she seemed to be strong and healthy and by that point, she was already down to 30% oxygen. I wanted to hold her and snuggle her, but she had to stay in the incubator.

Needless to say, I hardly slept that night. I was told that the doctors did their rounds at 7:30am and that someone would be in to give me an update on her progress. Joel had gone home and suffered through a rough night with Brice as well, so he slept in a bit while I waited. 7:30 came and went. 8:30 passed. Finally at 9:00 I wandered out to the nurses station to ask for the NICU phone number. I called down and Josette, the wonderful nurse that attended to Sloane during her stay, told me that she was off the oxygen and was eating bottles on her own. She told me that I could come down to feed her. While I was still in substantial pain from the surgery, I walked down the hall on my own. It was so wonderful to see her off the oxygen and IV and ready to eat. The first couple of feedings were difficult. Sloane was still having problems breathing and eating simultaneously so it would take her about thirty minutes to eat an ounce of formula.

While I was feeding her, the doctor on duty came to talk to me. She reported that while Sloane was doing well off the oxygen, there was concern over a skin tab on her eyelid and two bald spots on the top of her head. The doctor wanted to send info to the geneticists at Yale University to determine if there was reason for concern as both "rarities" were located on the head and there was the thought that it might present some sort of neurological defect. Of course, I immediately panicked. I called Joel and questioned why nobody had provided us with this information previously. We were then set to wait again. Our pediatrician came to check on Sloane in the interim. He calmed our nerves slightly but suggested that while the team at Yale might not come up with anything, he had doctors for us to call on our own.

By the end of the day, the doctor on duty let us know that the team at Yale came back with nothing. While there were myriad syndromes that presented these rarities, Sloane was not presenting other symptoms. By evening, Joel and I had resigned ourselves to the fact that Sloane just had a skin tab and some bald patches and in the grand scheme, she was perfect and we loved her and she was strong and beautiful and most importantly, she was ours.

I managed to convince the doctors to release her to the well baby nursery by Wednesday and by that afternoon, Joel was able to bring Brice to the hospital to meet his baby sister for the first time. The nurses gave him a "big brother" pin and teddy bear, which made him smile. Brice took one look at Sloane, lowered his head to hers and gave her a sweet kiss. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. My children together. Our family together. Our household complete.

Thursday morning we were all given a clean bill of health and were released from the hospital. Its been a wonderful, difficult, eye-opening first couple of days at home. Joel has remained a rock, juggling daddy, nurse and in-law duties. I am so proud of him and I find myself falling more and more in love with him every day. Brice is already a sensitive and caring big brother. He is interested and loving and I am in awe of how grown up he is. The Happy Harvills have truly become happier.

37 Week Deja Vu

I feel like I've written this post before. Oh wait, I did... at 37 weeks when I was pregnant with Brice. These last few days are starting to seem strangely familiar.

Joel and I went to see Dr. Pendyala yesterday for our 37+ week appointment. Pee in cup, check. Blood pressure, normal. Heartbeat, 130 bpm and H2 was moving like a champion. I asked Dr. Pendyala to do a quickie internal to see if there was any progress as I've been feeling lots of pressure, pain and cramping. She checked. Nothing. Not dilated, not effaced and my cervix was still high and tight. Dr. Pendyala was happy and I was disappointed. I was hoping that all the pain and discomfort would lead to some progress, perhaps open up the possibility of moving the c-section up a couple of days. Alas, nothing.

So we wait. We go back again on Monday for our final, pre-surgery appointment and then we just have one more week to live (read: suffer) through.

Both Brice and Joel have little colds. I took Brice to the doctor yesterday just to check to be sure it wasn't an ear infection as he'd been tugging on his ear for a few days. The doctor told me his ears looked fine, his gums looked good and all that it seemed to be was a little throat irritation. They ran a quick strep test which came back negative. By the time Joel got home from work yesterday, he was feeling awful. He took some Nyquil and retreated upstairs to the bedroom to get a good night's sleep.

So, I think for the most part, we're all done. We're done with feeling like poop. We're done with being sick. We're done with sleepless nights and seemingly never ending days. I get calls from lots of people telling me to relax and enjoy these last few days of being a mother of one, but I'll be honest, there's not much to enjoy. Its very difficult for me to carry or play with Brice and within an hour, my energy is dwindling. The most enjoyable thing we do is go to the pool for family swim hour. Brice loves the pool and I love feeling weightless for a few minutes. Yes, I'm feeling the self pity at the moment. I'm ready for this science experiment to be OVER so that I can get back to being a parent, having a life and doing the simple things like sleeping on my stomach, zipping up my boots or wearing clothing that doesn't include a hefty elastic waistband.

Oh, one piece of good news! We did get a new camera. I'll upload some of the new photos this evening and post them. We're due for a 13 month Brice update!

Well I'm Couch-Bound, Mama

So much for my uneventful last month of pregnancy. Monday night, while driving home from work, I started feeling sharp shooting pains that began at my right hip and continued down my leg to my calf. I got home early, so I asked Graciela to stay a bit longer so that I could take a quick, warm bath in the hopes that the muscles would relax and the pain would subside. The bath seemed to help, so I sent Graciela home and went back to playing with Brice. I put him to sleep and I could feel the pain as it returned to my right side. By the time Joel got home an hour later, I was limping around the house and couldn't make it up or down the steps. I tried getting on my hands and knees so Joel could massage my hip. I tried lying down on the floor with my knees up at a 90 degree angle. I tried walking around the house. Nothing worked. Finally, I gave up and went to bed. The pain became worse throughout the night and by about 1am, I was waking up every hour to get up and move.

Tuesday morning I called in to work to say I would be working from home. The pain was now traveling up my side and I was starting to feel some good contractions. I took a shower and had about two contractions while I stood under the warm water. We called the doctor and she said to try to sit still with my feet elevated. By 1pm, the contractions were coming with some regularity and I was full on uncomfortable. Another call to the doc and we were told to go to labor and delivery at the hospital for some monitoring.

We showed up at the hospital and the nice nurses there got me all hooked up to the machines. The contractions were coming every 9-11 minutes but were not getting any closer or more intense. An internal showed that I was not dilated or effaced, so the contractions were not progressing into true labor. After two hours, we were sent home and told to continue to sit and rest.

Wednesday we went back to see Dr. Pendyala for a quickie growth ultrasound and appointment. The ultrasound tech went quickly, but we were able to get a brief glimpse of our little girl. At 35-36 weeks, she was measuring at 5lbs, 12 oz. Perfectly average! Her lungs were functioning, my fluid levels were perfect, her kidneys appeared to be working and she was head down and happy. Dr. Pendyala was happy with the results. She basically instructed me to stay at home for the remainder of the week. We'll see her again on Monday and hopefully at that point, she'll green light me to go back to work. While its very relaxing being at home, I'm already a little bored and the fact that I can't do much doesn't make this "time off" very fun at all.

I'll hit the 36 week mark tomorrow and the doctors feel that if I can make it one more week, the baby will be good to go if she decides to come early. I'm all for letting her bake but this discomfort is... well... uncomfortable (and as I am typing this, I'm having a contraction!). So, we've got 25 days to go. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

35 Weeks, 30 Years Old and a Trip to the Pool

First, I want to wish my wonderful husband a very Happy 30th Birthday. He turned the big 3-0 yesterday and I'm so happy that he is finally joining me in the "old fart's club." It was a little lonely being the only club member in the household. We had a wonderful dinner at Rouge last night with Allyson, Eric, Eleana, Dan, Chrissy, Rob and Simon. The food was pretty good but the company, as always, was excellent. So nice to have such a good group of friends. Oh, and I'm never going to forgive Allyson for buying Joel a video game for a birthday gift! What were you thinking? I'm sure I'll find him couch-bound at 3am playing shoot-em-up against 10-year-olds. Good times.

We hit the 35 week mark on Friday and as of today, I have exactly 28 days to go until the big c-section (unless H2 decides to bless us with an early appearance, although we're not holding our breath). I'm feeling HUGE, none of my clothes are fitting me, sleep is pretty much non-existent and this heartburn crap really needs to end ASAP. I know that I'm in the home stretch and I'm thankful to see the end in sight, but I really wish the pregnancy gods would play nice and give me a day or two reprieve. I've forgotten what its like to be able to catch my breath and see my feet and even shaving my legs is a task (a task that I am still doing every day, thank you very much).

We've got a doctor's appointment with Dr. Pendyala and an ultrasound scheduled for Monday, January 18. This is the 36-weeker so they'll take some measurements of H2, look at the amniotic fluid and attempt to give us an idea of how much she'll weigh on the big day. I went back to look at Brice's measurements from this appointment and they were putting him at 8lbs, 3oz. This was pretty accurate as they say that babies gain about 5oz per week at this point and he was almost 9lbs at birth at 39 weeks. Please feel free to place bets this time around on how big or small you think little girlie is.

Joel and I also took a major step this week and we joined the New Canaan YMCA. I figure, once this second baby is born, I really have no excuse to continue avoiding the gym as I've done for the past two years. They've got a great swimming facility and it will be nice to also take some spin and yoga classes again.

We decided we'd jump right in (literally) and we took Brice to the family swim hour on Saturday. Let me start by telling you that getting into our suits and into the pool was a workout unto itself. Joel decided to lift weights for a bit before going swimming, so I went with Brice into the women's locker room. I got him undressed and put on his swim diaper, at which point he burst into tears. I had a feeling he was getting hungry, so I pulled a bottle out of my bag and shoved it into his mouth. We sat on the floor while he ate... in his swim diaper...which is not absorbent at all. I prayed that he would not pee all over the floor. Finally I was able to get him in his bathing suit. Now it was my turn. For anyone who has spent time with me over the last few weeks knows that I move at a snails pace. Trying to get boots off, pants off, underwear off and bathing suit on while managing a 13-month-old was challenging. There was a moment when my foot became lodged in my underwear at the exact moment that Brice decided to peek under one of the changing room curtains. I'm not sure if Brice's face or my half-naked pregnant body scared this poor little old lady more as I grabbed him just as he was about to pull back the curtain.

We made our way out to the pool. I sat Brice on the side and hopped in. Joel was right. Feeling weightless was WONDERFUL. I brought Brice into the pool and we bopped around for a few minutes when once again, he started to cry. I was determined to get him to spend some time swimming, so we sat on the side for a bit while he calmed down. One of the nice lifeguards brought over some rubber duckies for Brice to play with and I'm not sure what the connection was, but all of a sudden, he was all smiles. We played with the duckies, dunked our heads under, he jumped off my shoulders into the water and even held on to the kickboard. He was a real champ in the water and Joel and I were so proud of him for being fearless. My plan is to try to take him once a week going forward so that by the time we go down to Florida, he's a real swimming master. Yes, this is part of my master plan to breed a future Olympic swimmer.

So, we'll update more after our doctor's appointment next week. Let's hear it for big, healthy babies!

Pele, David Beckham, Landon Donovan and now introducing Brice Harvill!

Oh the weather outside is frightful

We're leaving for Bethesda tonight for Christmas and while I'll try to make one final post before 2009 concludes, these days, I make no promises.

The Harvills (north) survived the first "blizzard of the century" from last week. After two days of waiting, Joel and I estimate that we got about 9-11 inches of snow which doesn't really qualify as a blizzard in my book. For Connecticut winters, it was nothing major to us. We paid some guys to shovel our driveway, we made a fire and thanks to our new Jeep, we weren't even locked in the house for too long.

We did have our first Cosby kids moment with Brice during the snowstorm. My parents sent us spiffy new snow pants for Brice so we figured we'd test them out by taking him out in the snow. My theory has always been that I dress my kids as I dress myself. For snowy conditions, this means pants, socks, snow pants, long sleeved shirt, sweater, jacket, gloves, hat and boots. I really feel for people who live in chilly conditions year round with children. It took me and Joel approximately 30 minutes to get Brice into his various layers and then it took another 15 minutes of me, sitting in the floor with my back up against a wall and Joel pushing with all of his might to get my snow boots on. How I manage to be swollen when its 10 degrees outside is beyond me. So, we finally got Brice out into the snow, made it halfway around the block and he started to cry. His nose was running, his cheeks were rosy and he was clearly not happy. By the time we got back to the house, he was hysterical. Its amazing how it can take 30 minutes to get a kid fully dressed and only take 30 seconds to get them back down to a diaper. As soon as he was back in the warmth in normal clothes, he was happy again. Joel made it all better by taking him in the bubble bath with the jets on. Brice is definitely my child. He could have played in the tub all day!

I had my 32-week check up appointment with Dr. Pendyala on Monday. We've tentatively scheduled the c-section for Monday, February 8 although I could go into labor earlier or an emergency could push us back. Regardless, its nice to have an end date to look forward to and as of this Monday, we'll have 6 weeks to go until we meet baby H2. The 50-day mark never looked to good! I miraculously gained another 3lbs putting me at parity to where I was with Brice at the 32-week mark. I guess the weeks of throwing up that I suffered through during the start of this pregnancy were no match for my keen ability to eat and gain. Sigh. I lost the weight once and I guess I'll have to do it again! Otherwise, we listened to H2's heartbeat (fast and strong), measured my belly (perfect) and scheduled our last ultrasound for January 20. Its weird to think that I'm in the home stretch now and that we'll be a family of four in just over one month.

Last night we drove up to Brewster to pick up our new car. A shiny used Ford Edge! Woo hoo! We are now a 2-SUV family. The Ford is only on lease to us for one year so by next Christmas, we'll determine what our needs really are. All I know is, I'm happy to be getting rid of the Saab. While it was my favorite car to drive from a sportiness perspective, it sure is uncomfortable to sit in with this damn belly in my way.

When we got home last night, Graciela was waiting for us to tell us the bad news. The gutter in our TV room had frozen and created a dam of ice. The melting ice and snow had nowhere to go so instead of running down the gutter and into the yard, it was running over the side of the gutter, into our window and all over our floor. The entire sliding door looked like a waterfall and had already soaked through the floor mat and several towels. Joel once again donned 35 layers of clothing, grabbed the ladder and went out into the ice and snow with a hammer and a chisel to attempt to remove the block of ice from our gutter. Ah, the joys of home ownership are never-ending.

So, we're outta here tonight. As I've mentioned on Facebook, I am praying for the following:

• Brice sleeps the entire car ride
• We can find a Wendys or a McDonalds with luke warm (at least) french fries
• By some miracle, I am able to hold my bladder for longer than 30 minutes at a clip, otherwise I fear Joel will make me attempt to pee in a Gatorade bottle (long standing Happy Harvill joke).

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas or Happy Festivus (for the rest of us) and may your nog be eggy, your stocking runneth over and your canes be made of candy!

We've come a long way, baby.

Joel and I took Brice for his one-year check-up with Dr. Lialios on Monday. He weighed in at 26lbs and was 31.5 inches long, putting him between 90-95th percentile for both height and weight. We saw the nice curve on Brice's growth chart, which let us know that he's pretty much remained consistent in his growth throughout the year. We were given the go ahead to start the transition from formula to whole milk (yay!). Dr. Lialios also recommended that we give Brice the swine flu shot as the children that he had seen to date that had been given Tamiflu to combat the swine flu were coming back at a high rate with pnemonia and bronchitis or other issues. So, minor hysteria from Brice and a few minutes later and our child had his two shots and we were on our way with our next checkup scheduled for early March.

We brought Brice home, dropped him off with Graciela and headed off to work. When I arrived home around 5:30 p.m., I sent Joel and text message letting him know I was feeling a little nauseous and I asked him to come home quickly to help with Brice. The waves of nausea came and went, and I was able to keep food down despite a couple of close calls. Joel put Brice to bed and we took up our normal places on the couch for some Monday Night Football-watching.

At around 10:30pm, we heard it. The lights on our baby monitor lit up and then we started hearing loud, bizarre noises coming from Brice's room. Since I was sitting and these days it takes me about 10 minutes to get to my feet, Joel went to investigate. I stayed comfy and assumed that it was just a bad dream and our little guy would be back to sleep in a few minutes. Then, I heard Joel's voice thru the monitor.

"Mommy, we're going to need your help in here. Throw up central."

Ugh. Let me just note that my child is not a puker. He was never a big spitter-upper (except for some reason whenever people were dressed in expensive suits or coats). The last time he spit-up was when he was still predominantly taking the bottle and some purees, so the liquid is relatively easy and painless to clean up. Not the case anymore. I went in and we found Brice pretty much covered in vomit. His blankets, sheets, pajamas... everything needed to be changed. He was hysterical and scared. Joel and I undressed Brice and he took the little man into our bedroom to try to calm him down while I filled the laundry basket with the soiled items and did the first in a series of laundry runs for that evening. We re-pj'ed him, gave him a little water and I snuggled with him in bed while Joel went upstairs to get some rest. We thought the worst was over... how wrong we were.

At about 2:00 a.m., Brice started to get restless again. He pulled his binky out and started rolling around. I thought that maybe he was hungry, so I grabbed his bottle. He took about an ounce or two and the proceeded to throw up again, this time all over my pillow, up my arm and down my leg. By the time I got him out of bed and into the bathroom we were both totally covered. Brice was less scared this time around and when I put him down on the bathroom floor, he quickly stood up, grabbed his favorite new toy - the electric toothbrush - and started to play. I'll admit, that after his pukey-ness, I wasn't going to stop him from brushing his teeth! I got us both undressed and called to Joel to come help take the sheets and pillows off the bed. Laundry run #2.

Joel suggested that I take Brice upstairs. We were quickly running out of places to sleep! We both put on new pjs and I brought him upstairs and put him down in the bed. Within five minutes, I recognized the tell tale signs. Binky came out, hands started thrashing around. With my pregnant and yet extraordinarily cat-like reflexes, I grabbed Brice and ran him into the bathroom before he spewed, Exorcist style, all over me. If nothing more, I was getting pretty good at this. I brought him back downstairs, changed us both again and brought him over to the couch where at this point, Joel was sleeping with both of our dogs.


It was now 3:00 a.m. Joel commented that I had a piece of green bean in my hair and we both laughed with exhaustion as we realized I hadn't eaten green beans. I sat down on the couch, put my poor baby on my belly and snuggled him tight until he fell asleep. Joel fell asleep. The dogs passed out. I sat there, awaiting the next puke-fest. I sat there until 6:00 a.m. with Brice asleep on me. At that point, I woke Joel up, handed our little guy over and passed out for an hour.

By 7:00 a.m. he seemed to be back to normal. No fever, no more puking and ready to play. Joel and I gave one another a wink as we realized that we had somehow survived the night without yelling, fighting or freaking out. We tolerated the sleep deprivation like champs. The last year had transformed us from novices into true parents, ready and willing to accept any challenge at any hour. I will admit, that over the last few weeks I've been lying awake nights wondering how we were going to manage with Brice and a new baby, but our capabilities demonstrated put many of my concerns to rest. Sure, I'm certain we'll have a tense moment (or year) as we try to figure out how to manage two children but I've got to give it up to the Happy Harvills. We've come a long way, baby.

Some updated photos

It has been awhile since I posted any photos. Here's a sneak preview of the Happy Harvill holiday card photo. Yes, I use my child to hide my 30 week bump! Thanks to Meredith for snapping this one on Brice's first birthday!

Another family photo down by our beach. Brice is practicing his serious face.

Doing what he does best: messing with the dogs and making funny faces.

Another one from Brice's first birthday. I can't believe how big my little man is!

Orange you glad I didn't say sheet cake?

I went to the doctor on Friday for my 30 week update. Instead of seeing Dr. Pendyala, per usual, I went to Dr. Garratano. The office policy is that during a pregnancy, you have to see more than one doctor. I figured, since the 30 week appointment is typically a non-event, I would use this one to check the box and see someone else in the practice.

I'll admit, I'm a pretty easy patient. I don't ask many questions, I don't have many concerns. Despite my ease, Dr. Garratano did NOT make a good first impression. My appointment was slated for 10:20. It was Brice's birthday, so I figured I'd be in and out and we could continue our day of lunching, playing and celebrating. I arrived at 10:10 to check in. By 10:30, the nurse brought me back to do the routine. Pee in a cup, check my weight (up 6lbs in four weeks?!?) and check my blood pressure (low and steady, as usual). The nurse told me the doctor would be right in to see me. And then I waited... and waited... and waited. I read People magazine, and American Baby and Good Housekeeping. I checked my blackberry. I reorganized my purse. At 11am, the nurse returned to tell me that the doctor would be with me. Didn't she do that thirty minutes ago? I read Vogue from June. I sent emails.

Finally at 11:20, Dr. Garratano arrived. An hour late. She quickly flipped through my file. She listened to H2's heartbeat. "Active baby!" She said. Thanks genius. I couldn't tell that she was active from the eleventy billion bladder punches I sustain on a daily basis.

"I think she's feet down," she said with a look of displeasure.
"I'm having another c-section. It doesn't really matter," I said.
"She can always turn," Dr. Garratano responded.
"Yeah, I figured that considering I still have 9 weeks to go." Was this woman for real?

She asked if I had taken my glucose test. "Yes, last month. I passed. I failed the one hour with Brice so I'm happy!" She responded, "You're up 6lbs in 4 weeks and this time you don't have a glucose intolerance to blame. Time to get the weight under control. What's your weakness?" I thought about it. My weakness? Shoes? Mani/pedis? Looking at real estate I can't afford? I responded, "Oranges. I've been eating about five a day. My son loves them so we share." I was proud. She gave a quick tsk-tsk under her breath like I was a five-year-old getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar. "If you don't want to gain 50lbs like you did the first time around, I recommend putting down the fruit and picking up a cheeseburger."

Seriously? Here I was thinking I was being good. Aside from my morning bagel, I pretty much stayed off the carbs. I hadn't even baked a single sheet cake this time around! I ate low fat frozen yogurt for crying out loud. You are an hour late to see me and now you're going to take away the one yummy item that I've been enjoying and replace it with cheeseburgers? For a brief minute I envisioned myself rolling up the outdated Vogue and whacking the doc across the head.

I regained my self control and nodded. "I'll lay off the fruit," I said. "We'll see you in two weeks," she responded as she ushered me out of the room. The entire meeting had lasted approximately five minutes. I walked out to the receptionist and told her that I needed an appointment in two weeks. "With Dr. Garratano?" she asked. "Dr. Pendyala," I responded with a smile.

I finally made it home as Joel, Brice and his sister were returning from a trip to Costco. They were unpacking the car and as I came around to help, Joel handed me a crate of clementines. "Your favorite!" He was so proud of himself for picking up oranges for me. "Got any cheeseburgers in there?" I asked. Sigh. I just can't win.

A letter to my son on his (almost) birthday

Dear Brice,

Tomorrow morning when you wake up, I'm going to come into your room, sit you down on my lap and tell you the story of what happened the day that you were born. In case you don't feel like listening, I decided to write it down for you as well.

December 4, 2008 was a cold day and despite the chill, when the alarm went off your father and I nearly sprung out of bed with excitement. Somehow we were able to get sleep the night before. I'm still not really sure how. We knew we would be meeting you that day. Daddy cleaned up a little bit around the house while I took a shower, got dressed, blew my hair dry and put on makeup. I wanted to make sure that I looked perfect when we first saw one another. Once we were ready, we grabbed a pillow, kissed Shamus and Lucy goodbye and headed off in the car to the hospital. The sun was just coming up creating a beautiful pink hue on the horizon and there was frost on the ground.

We walked into the labor and delivery section of the hospital, let the nurses know that we were there for a c-section and they led us down the hall to a room. We passed a couple of women in labor along the way and daddy and I gave one another a quick hi-five because we knew that we had made the right decision. The nurses made me change into a gown and they hooked me up to a machine so that they could monitor your heartbeat. Even then we knew you were so active! The nurses also gave daddy a funny outfit to wear over his clothes. It was tight and we were worried that if he bent over, he would split it right down the backside!

Finally, Dr. Pendyala came in and told us that were ready to go. They had me walk down the hall to the operating room. They asked daddy to wait outside while they gave me the epidural. I guess the were afraid he might faint! My tummy and legs started to numb and they put up a screen so I couldn't see what they were doing. Daddy was allowed to join me and he had a beautiful photo album with him. They started the c-section and we looked at pictures from when we first met, our vacations, our wedding and of course, pictures of Shamus and Lucy.

Dr. Pendyala told Joel to get the camera ready and all of a sudden, we heard your first mighty cry. It was the most wonderful sound in the whole world. She brought you around the screen so that I could see you. You were big and pink and perfect and from that first moment, I was so in love. You were born at 8:10 a.m. and you weighed 8lbs, 14oz. The nurses took you to get you cleaned up and the doctors finished the procedure. I told daddy to go with you to the nursery and he did. He looked so proud and I could see tears in his eyes.

The doctors brought me in to the recovery room for an hour, where I rested and waited impatiently to see you again. Finally they said that the room was ready and they wheeled me down the hall. We stopped in front of a button on the wall and the nurse instructed me to push it. When I did, it played nursery music for the whole hospital so that everyone would know that a baby had been born. They brought me to our room and then a few minutes later they brought you in. It was so nice to hold you. You were all bundled up in blankets and you just snuggled in very tight. I still remember you looking up at me with your big, brown eyes and you sighed. My heart was filled with joy and pride and I just wanted to hug you and never let you go.

Since that chilly day last year, you have grown up so much and have learned so many things. You have turned into a sweet little boy. I fall in love again every time I hear you laugh, see you smile, watch you interact with the dogs or other kids. I revel in your love for music and to watch you dance is the true definition of joy. I know that every parent must think this, but I truly believe that you are a very smart little boy. From 9 months old you were walking. These days you can kick the soccer ball by yourself. You are a wonderful sharer and are always offering toys, bites of food and kisses. You have learned to share your dinner with the dogs which has resulted in my newly painted wall being covered with cheese, carrots and pasta sauce. The dogs have gained about 10lbs each. My favorite time is when you snuggle on the couch. You seem to love watching football as its the only moment when you sit still. You can't get enough of bubbles. We blow bubbles in the kitchen almost every night when I get home from work. Our floor is perpetually sticky as a result. You are mesmerized by your daddy and I can see you growing up to be a fine and respectable man, just like him. You talk a a lot and seem to understand even more. My favorite thing to hear you say is, "mom."

So, my sweet boy, I wish you a very Happy First Birthday! I can't wait to see what this next year holds in store for us Happy Harvills. I love you with all of my heart.

Love,
Mom

We survived Thanksgiving and Brice's First Birthday Party...

...and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Just kidding. We had a great long weekend.

Last year at this time, we were preparing for my c-section and the birth of baby Brice. For Thanksgiving, Simon, Joel and I ordered some food from Boston Market and sat around on the couch watching football and playing video games. We didn't want company and quite frankly, at 38 weeks pregnant, I couldn't really travel anywhere. One week later, Brice was born. That night may have been the last "quiet and relaxing" evening we would have... ever.

Fast forward to this year. At 29 weeks pregnant, Thanksgiving was a little bit different. My parents and my brother, Steven, came to stay at the Harvill household and we were joined by George and AJ, who stayed in a hotel nearby. My sister, Allyson, hosted and my other sister, Jill, traveled in from London with Andy and baby Grace. Eric's parents, sister, his sister's husband and sister's husband's parents also joined. Oh, and did I mention it was also my nephew, Zach's 17th birthday? Needless to say with the birthdays and the babies, we had a lot of celebrating to do.

I have to report that despite the criticism and threats to have the Westport fire department on standby, Joel and George's Cajun deep fried turkey was a major hit (and no eyebrows were lost during the cooking process). Its amazing what men can do with a deep fryer and gallons of peanut oil.

The day after Thanksgiving, we celebrated Brice's first birthday since our families were in town. We had 35 people at our house including six kids under 3. The bagels, etc. were a huge hit with the crowd that was still working to digest the previous night's turkey dinner and I still giggle when I think of everyone walking around with blue teeth due to my selection of turquoise cupcake frosting. Brice cried hysterically through the singing of "Happy Birthday" which only made me and Joel laugh harder as we were not surprised at all. Needless to say, the second everyone left, he happily played with all of his new loot. To date, his favorite toys seem to be the music table from Aunt AJ, the singing helicopter from Graciela and of course, the Winnie the Pooh card that plays the Winnie the Pooh song (Joel and I attempted to download it off iTunes this morning because we know the birthday card battery will only last so long!).

Now we're gearing up for Elaine and Meredith to arrive on Thursday. They'll be spending Brice's actual first birthday with us on Friday. I'm thinking we need to do something special... lunch out? A trip with the family to the Children's Museum? An extra long bubble bath? We'll see what the day holds in store for us.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm still having a difficult time grasping the fact that my little boy is one. Where did the year go? I fear that I'll close my eyes for a brief second and Brice will be in kindergarten. Another blink and he'll be graduating from high school. Blink again and he's moving to some faraway city for his first job. Part of me wants to put him in a little shoebox in the hopes that he'll stay little and innocent forever. This morning, Joel and I couldn't help but laugh when I asked Brice for a kiss and he responded by chomping down on the tip of my nose.

The other side of me can't wait to see what an amazing man Brice will grow up to become. Graciela told me yesterday that while they were at the library for singalong time, several of the kids, including Brice, were playing with a set of Thomas trains. Apparently a "fight" ensued between a couple of the other one-ish year olds. Graciela beamed as she told me that Brice picked up one train and handed it to one boy, then picked up another to hand to a little girl and then sat down to play with the remaining train himself. Perhaps a future career with the U.N.? Maybe a hockey referee? Who knows. Needless to say, the story made me very, very proud. Brice got extra chicken nuggets for dinner :)

Tarzan Boy and The Trimester That Time Forgot

Its been awhile since I've written so I thought I owed an update on all of the recent Brice and H2 happenings.

We had a WONDERFUL Halloween. Brice dressed up as a lion in the costume given to us by Fro and George, Joel's parents' neighbors. I was shocked and astounded at the fact that he loved the outfit. He hung out with cousin Lila (who was dressed as a very pretty ladybug) for a bit before heading back to our house for trick-or-treating. Brice actually did the entire loop with Joel and a bunch of our neighbors as the older kids got candy. I think Brice was just excited to be along for the ride. I stayed back at the house to give out candy and believe it or not, we went through the enormous amount of candy that we had by 8:30 pm.

At eleven months, Brice is now walking like a crazy man. He still likes to hold my hand as he goes, but its more for security than necessity. He walks back and forth across the room unassisted and "cruises" all of our furniture like he's playing a game of Hot Lava.

His other big development is that he figured out how to pull up in his crib. He was in the dark (no pun intended) on this for awhile, so Joel and I had avoided lowering the crib because its hard for me to reach in with this baby belly in the way. On Monday, I heard a loud noise at about 2am. Joel went to go and check on the dogs and I went to Brice's room to see what was going on. What I found was Brice, standing up in the corner of his crib with both hands clutching his curtains and one foot on the top bar of the crib. He looked like he was getting ready to Tarzan his way onto the floor. Needless to say, by 8am his crib was lowered all the way to the ground. Now I basically need to chuck him in after his bottle since I can't reach the mattress! Last night I sang Brice a couple of lyrics from the song "Tarzan Boy." Perhaps I have an idea for next year's Halloween costume?

Our little guy is also quite the talker. He's constantly babbling and its very fun to have pretend conversations with him. I wish there was a way to translate so that I could know what he was talking about. Joel and I taught him how to laugh like The Count from Sesame Street (ah, ah, ah) so now we do that about a million times a day. I keep trying to get him to say "dog" but I think we're a long way off from that. For now, Shamus and Lucy will just have to know to come whenever they hear a series of raspberry type noises or a shout of BA-BA-BA!

In H2 news, I had a great 26 week check up with Dr. Pendyala. Our little girlie's heart rate was 150, my blood pressure was low and my belly measured right as it should. I somehow managed to miraculously pass my one hour glucose test as well (the lemon/lime flavor is only mildly better in taste than the orange). The one shock was when I got on the scale! Up ten pounds in only six weeks. Yikes! I knew the weight was going to come on at some point, but I was surprised to see it that high. I'm hopeful that I can keep it under control to avoid another 50lb total, as I had with Brice. I'm getting uncomfortable but overall, I feel pretty good. I looked at the calendar this morning and I realized that I am now just about 27 weeks (as of tomorrow) and am officially in the third trimester or "The Trimester That Time Forgot." I know that the next 13 weeks will DRAG by at a snails pace as it becomes increasingly difficult to shave my nether regions, keep myself from peeing in my pants and catch my breath as I walk up a simple flight of stairs. For now, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving followed by Brice's first birthday party and the myriad of holiday milestones that are upcoming. I've already talked to Dr. Pendyala about scheduling the c-section for February 8, so hopefully we can get that on the calendar!

I promise to post some photos and videos this evening!

Order returns. My child sleeps. Bloodbath at work. 24 weeks.

Its a cryptic rhyming title of this week's blog, but its so true.

Our home renovation projects are finally coming to a close. I'll post some pics tonight of the progress we've made and I have to say, it really looks wonderful. The bathroom is all fresh and clean with new paint, tile, tub, vanity and mirror (and our plumber even fixed the leaky pipe today). The kitchen got new paint, tile, floor, lighting and cabinets (and as of tonight, we should have our sink back). The painter is painting. The built-ins are... well... built in. Its amazing how personalizing our house ties us to it more and more. In the beginning, Joel and I were keenly aware of all of the things that were wrong with it. The kitchen was just a mess. We knew the people that lived there previously hadn't cared much for upkeep or cleanliness. They weren't handy. They weren't in for the long haul. Now, I'm happy to say that our house feels like home. Ahhhhhhh.

Brice continues to grow like a weed. We've completely taken him off the baby food purees (except for the peaches... he really likes them) and now he eats pretty much whatever we eat. Last night he had chicken, rice, peas, mandarin oranges, half an English muffin, a couple of animal crackers and an 8oz bottle. He slept from 7:30-5:30, woke up for a quick bottle and then passed out again until 8am. I love it. He's very talkative now too. Obviously he's not using real words but his babble is just totally lovable and hilarious. Oftentimes, Joel and I wake up to Brice talking to his toys in his crib. I wonder what sort of crazy story he's telling them. I'm sure it has something to do with wrangling Lucy and giving her big kisses (he's a little obsessed these days).

Work has been...interesting. We'd heard rumors of layoffs coming for a few weeks now and yesterday, the ax fell. Today it continues as HR calls people in to conference rooms one by one to tell them their fate. We've lost four fabulous people from our communications team thus far and we've heard that more are coming for other teams around the organization. The sad thing is, there is no apparent rhyme or reason. The layoffs are not related to poor performance, poor attitude or poor standing within the company. They just are. I guess that's the new economy for you. I'm taking the advice of our former colleague before HR called him. "Keep working, keep your head down and pray."

And in Baby H2 news, we've hit the 24 week mark. Yay for viability. At 24 weeks, a baby has a chance of surviving outside of the womb in the event of premature labor or some other incident. It's a good milestone to reach. One of my co-workers gave birth to her daughter at 27 weeks. From the photos, her little girl looks like a very rambunctious child. I'm feeling good overall. Just tired. I'm not sure if that's pregnancy related or if it has to do with the stresses of work and home reno. Needless to say, I'm ready for a weekend when I can just kick back, snuggle with my two favorite men and relax.

I promise to put up some pics this weekend!