Reid

Freshie

Welcome back! Sorry I’ve been MIA for the last month, but it’s for good reason. Baby Dragon has left the cave! Joining us just three days early instead of three weeks like he threatened to, Reid Powell Kirtley was born on Saturday, October 26. Coming in at seven pounds, eleven ounces and nineteen inches long, he’s strong, healthy and happy.

So what do you think of the name? (See, I told you we weren’t naming him “Dragon.”) I love Reid for a first name because it’s simple and normal, strong and cool without being weird, just like the name Quinn. After Hubs and I had the name Reid picked out somewhere around five months pregnant, my friend showed me a book called The Baby Name Wizard. Under the name Quinn, Reid is listed as a brother name! As if that weren’t enough of a coincidence, one of the meanings of the name Reid is “red haired,” and guess who has red hair! It’s hard to tell from these photos, but trust me, this is one ginger baby. I hope it stays red!

The day Reid was born, my mom arrived from Michigan. Hubs picked her up at the airport, and they got back to our house at 5:45 pm. Then we left for the hospital at 6:30. Talk about cutting it close! My mom called as they were driving home to see how far apart my contractions were. I said “about twelve minutes, but please pick up some pizza on your way home.” I had my priorities.

We probably should have left for the hospital sooner, but my water hadn’t broke yet, and at that point I’d been having contractions on and off for four weeks. I really didn’t want to have False Alarm #3 and be sent home again, but I really didn’t want to have a baby by myself in our family room either. My contractions started to get even more intense and frequent, and Hubs’ gentle coaxing had turned into a firmer “PLEASE get in the car!” So I wolfed down a slice of pizza, and I finally decided we could go. 

It was just so different than when I had Quinn. With Q, my water broke three weeks early and I never had a single contraction so they had to induce me. This time, it was the exact opposite experience. 

By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions had already progressed to eight minutes apart, and the nurse’s quick inspection determined I was dilated to five. The alarmed nurse was all like, “Okay, we’re doing this c-section now!” (I wasn’t a candidate for a VBAC. Long story short, we long ago decided that a second c-section was the least risky option.) Then Hubs and I were all like “Yay! Let’s do this!” I went to the bathroom really quick, and when I came out, the doctor and several nurses were already standing in my room waiting with a wheelchair. Wow, I guess we were in a hurry.

The whole thing worked out perfectly. The c-section was easy and uneventful. (Well, except for the part where the baby came out – that was pretty eventful.) Quinn’s big brother kit was a huge success, especially the car carrier. My mom arrived just in time for Reid’s birth (he was just waiting for Grandma), so she was able to stay at the house with Quinn while Hubs and I were in the hospital for a few days. We even came home a whole day early, so my mom, Hubs and I were able to take the boys trick-or-treating on Halloween! (More on Reid’s first Halloween coming soon.)

Love at first sight

Somehow an entire month has passed since then, and my Baby Dragon will be one month old tomorrow! The four of us are still adjusting, and it’s going as well as can be expected. Life with a newborn is rough. Life with a newborn and a toddler is rougher, hence my recent absence on the blog. (I would give my left arm for both of these boys to sleep at the same time.)

Bros 4 LIFE, yo!

So I might not be able to blog as much as I would like, especially with the holidays upon us. I still have so much to tell you! Like what life is like being a mom of two, how Q’s adjusting to being a big brother, whether PPD is a problem the second time around, and the answer to my question about enough love. So I hope you’ll bear with me and stick around as I blog 

sporadically for a little while. I promise to be back in full force as soon as I can. 

Now for some more super cute pics!

Always our little Dragon