Oliver the Pumpkin

Home from the Hospital


The transition home from the hospital went really well. My parents don’t live here in Orlando, but were able to be here for a few days after Oliver was born. My aunt and cousin came down for a week after he was born, which was a HUGE help and blessing. They took Benjamin and Lyla all over town and had a blast. I was worried that the kids would miss me at the hospital, or have trouble with the transition, but they were having so much fun that they hardly noticed I was gone.

Oliver had jaundice after he left the hospital, so we had to take him into his pediatrician every day for about 4 or 5 days to get his foot pricked and tested 🙁 We also had to use the special lights to help his biliruben levels go down, which meant a couple nights where Grant and I took turns holding him with the light device against his back. He slept through it all of course. We were REALLY happy to finally get rid of those lights!

Fortunately, my awesome Mother-in-law was able to fly out from Dallas to spend time with us and help us out. Since I still wasn’t able to drive and the kids had preschool, she was also our chauffeur. It was really special she was able to share so many of Oliver’s firsts with us, and it really helped me out so much when I still had pretty low energy most days. We also were able to sneak in a few games of Catan (our favorite game).

Oliver the Pumpkin


We actually had picked out the name Joshua Jude for our little guy, and changed it to Oliver only about a week before he was born. I had always loved the name Oliver, but Grant was so set on the name Joshua. One evening I casually mentioned how much I loved the name Oliver, and Grant immediately fell in love with the name. It was funny to see him change his mind so suddenly and quickly, but I’m glad he did.

Benjamin (4) and Lyla (3) both had a little trouble with the idea of changing his name. They had gotten used to the idea of this baby boy named Joshua, but they got the hang of the new name after a few days. For some reason I started calling Oliver Pumpkin as a nickname, and Benjamin started calling him Pumpkin. In fact, Benjamin will ONLY call him Pumpkin and he told all of his friends and teachers at school that he has a baby brother named Pumpkin. When we go pick him up at preschool, everyone says “look it’s Pumpkin.”

Don’t Squish the Baby


I was worried that Benjamin and Lyla might have issues of jealousy and say things like “put the baby back in your tummy.” However, they have both been SO obsessed with their little brother. Every morning they rush into our room to give him hugs and kisses. They always want to be sitting next to him, holding his hand, or holding him on their laps. 6 weeks later and they are more obsessed than ever. I’m really happy that they love him so much, and I love seeing them together, but I find myself saying “BE CAREFUL” and “DON’T SQUISH THE BABY” about a hundred times a day.

Oliver the Sleepy Explorer


When Benjamin was born, we didn’t get out all that much the first few weeks. We didn’t have as many places to go, plus it was July and August in Florida, so everything was hot. As a first time mom I was also a little more worried about germs, and I was nervous taking him out right away to stores and the mall. When Lyla was born, Benjamin was a 16 month old and it was hard for me to handle both of them out and about. Benjamin was also a super late walker (stubborn boy) so for about a month, I had two kids who weren’t walking yet.

Oliver, on the other hand, has been all over town in his sleep. He especially loves being carried in the Baby Bjorn, but also is really happy in his stroller. He wakes up here and there, but that sleepy baby has been to malls, movies, the Science Center, Monkey Joe’s, restaurants, birthday parties, the pool, every park in town, church, preschool, and even Epcot. Hopefully in the next few weeks he will also get a chance to sleep at the beach.