Welcome to the World, Baby Joel

On Friday, November 14, we welcomed baby Joel Matthew Runacres into the world. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz, was 53 cm (21 in) long and was 11 days early. We think I probably went into early labor because I had a 24 hour tummy 'bug' two days earlier and had experienced some contractions as a result (although they had stopped and were never regular.) When the real contractions started early Friday morning, I didn't take them seriously for several hours because I figured it could still be a residual side effect of the flu. Eventually, though, I couldn't ignore them anymore and we called the midwife around midday. We headed to the hospital around 2:10 pm and I got into the birthing pool where I stayed until just after 4 and at 4:33 pm, Joel was born. After Reuben's birth, which had complications and felt very 'out-of-control,' I was incredibly grateful to have such a straightforward, uncomplicated delivery this time around.
As of today, Joel is two weeks old and he is gorgeous. He's piling on the weight (he has now surpassed his birth weight after losing some weight in hospital) and has hit the 8 lb mark. I love having another little baby in the house (Reuben seems so big after holding his little brother) but I know he will grow very quickly. He is quite relaxed and very rarely clenches his fists; he loves to sleep with his hands next to his face, and he doesn't like getting his diaper (nappy) changed and lets us know about it! Other than that, there are lots of things we are still getting to know about one another and I am looking forward to the exciting journey ahead of us.
Nathan goes back to work on Monday after 2 weeks off so I am trying to stay positive at the thought of having two babies under 1 on my hands. I am excited and a bit freaked out at the same time as Reuben is still very high maintenance (and Nathan has just taught him how to crawl this week!) and now that he is mobile, I will have my work cut out for me. At times like this, I must admit I'd love to have a mother around who could give me some helpful advice. :)
Anyway, I should head to bed as I only get 2-3 hours of sleep at a time with a newborn on my hands. I'll add a couple of photos for those of you who aren't on Facebook (which is where I post most of my pics.)

Fun in the Sun

Hi everyone! I know I have been incredibly 'slack' at posting anything lately - sorry!!! My time seems incredibly precious at the moment as we prepare for Baby No2's arrival and any spare time I get I try to lie down or at least put my feet up. Anyway, I thought I'd try to post a few photos of this past weekend when we took Reuben to the park. Nathan hadn't taken him on the swings before and the weather was so lovely that we took advantage of the opportunity. Reuben went on the swings, the see-saw, the slide, and a couple of other things and absolutely loved it! I took a video that I would've loved to post but I think I have accidentally deleted it from the camera and am not sure how to get it back - oops! Any camera gurus out there, feel free to give me some pointers on how I can retrieve it because it was very cute.
As for any other news, let's see... I am less than 3 weeks away from my due date for Baby No2, Reuben turned 10 months old yesterday and although he isn't fully crawling, he is desperate to get moving and I think he's a bit frustrated that he hasn't quite gotten all the coordination together that he needs. He loves his food, is as social as ever, and can take the rings on and off this cool little toy we have that has colored rings that stack up on a 'post'-type thing - don't know how to describe it but most of you would recognise one if you saw it. :) He claps his hands, can drink out of a straw, has 8 teeth now, and I often find him in all sorts of unusual positions in his cot when I go in to get him up after a nap. His personality is developing as well and he will let you know when he's getting frustrated. He also wants to help you feed him at dinner times and I've found I have to give him either finger food or a spoon or something to hold onto when I feed him, otherwise he tries to take the bowl/spoon out of my hand and that usually ends in a big mess! He's growing so fast and I must say I'm glad I'm having another baby soon because otherwise I think I'd be a little sad that my Reuben is flying through 'babyhood' and will soon be a little boy!
Well, gotta post these photos and then try to have a little rest before my No1 baby wakes up. I'll try to be a but more diligent about posting in the coming weeks but no promises. :)