Friday Night Leftovers

Lately I've been reading a few blogs that do this so I decided to play along.

• The in-law's trip here went well. GV did work his magic with them but not with Kevin. He was flying off the handle with every slightest thing. But to be fair, they do make the same comments/ask the same questions about everything that is different about here from over there. It can get old and for Kevin it has done.
• GV is still doing the stupid army crawl. He won't use his knees and lift his tummy off the ground. Reminds me daily how I don't swiffer enough when at the end of the day his shirt is dirt-dirty and FULL of dog hair. Arg! However he is cruising a lot now! From coffee table to couch to chair then he'll "crawl" into the kitchen and use the cabinet door handles to cruise around our kitchen. 
• myParents bought a 2-person kayak to go with Wiki's single kayak. Wiki's single kayak that she bought shortly after she moved back early last year and didn't use until a couple of weeks ago when we took the in-laws kayaking. Good grief!
• GV is 11 months old on Sunday! Holy Heck! I gotta start planning what to do for his birthday. Should I have a party here at the house or out on the beach (like everyone else does). Should I invite just family or friends or family friends? Because of the moms group I'm in we know kids his age but they aren't really friends are they? When do babies start having friends?
• I was asked to be a VP for the moms group. I declined but decided to do treasurer. Kevin laughed when I told him because he doubts my monetary ability. Hello! Who was in charge of a huge college yearbook budget & ran her own business?!? This person right here!
• The in-laws think they might want to come over for Christmas. Which I'm totally okay with. But I've warned Kevin that he should warn them that it's Christmas with myFamily not Christmas in the USA. As in we will be hanging out with myFamily a lot — Mum commented to us over Christmas last year that when they visit us (now that we live 35 minutes away from myParents & Wiki) they don't want to have to share us with myFamily all the time while they are visiting. Occasionally is nice but not everyday.

Preparing

We're in super organizing, cleaning mode right now. Kevin's parents and sister (& her boyfriend) are visiting for the next two weeks. They get here Tuesday. We spent Christmas in England staying at Mum & Dad's and while I was ready for our usual rocky visit it actually went really really smooth. I guess GV was the missing piece. He made everyone get along. Hopefully he'll do the same for this visit. Last time SIL came (for our wedding) it got really bad and we actually had to separate Kevin and SIL.

GV is 10 months old! Holy Heck! He's still creeping not crawling. I don't know if he'll ever get on all fours. He can move around the house though! The other day the sprinklers went off in the middle of the day and so I went into the garage to figure out what was up with the timer. Suddenly the dogs leashes started rattling and I turn around and GV is in the garage playing with the dog leashes! I had left him in the living room! Les came running out of the bedroom convinced she was going for a walk. When she saw that it was just GV she sulked all the way back to the bedroom.

At his 9 month appt he was 30 inches, 20 something pounds. Only one pound heavier since his 6 month appt. His ped said she'd be concerned if he hasn't gain more weight by his year appt. I was shocked that he had only gained a pound (he feels so heavy sometimes!) and that his next appt was going to be at 1 year old! That's only two months away now! Anyways since then I've been more consistent about offering food after every nursing session. Before I just did it if we had time or a lull in our playing.

Great news! GV is sleeping through the night! It took a while and quite a few bad nights. I'll write more about it later. But he is sleeping from 7-7:30pm to 7:30-8:00am. Yay!

Okay I'll update more soon...I hope.

Rolling

At 12 days GV rolled from his tummy to his back. We even managed to catch it in photos as it was happening.  At 5 weeks he could do it over and over again.  Then he would do it off and on but around 3 months he stopped. It wasn't like he would try and try and never get it, he just wouldn't try. About 5 months he could roll from back to tummy. A few weeks ago he started rolling to his tummy when he didn't want to go to sleep and then he'd do it in his sleep and wake himself up. Or he'd roll to his tummy to get to a toy.

But he hasn't been crawling. It's not that I want to push him to crawl (I'm not sure I'm READY for a mobile baby) but most of his friends at playgroup are crawling now and he looks so sad when they all crawl away and he's left sitting there with his toys - or worse they crawl away with his toys. So I've been working to get more tummy time in each day. He's still no closer to crawling but today he was a rolling fool!

We were playing on the bed and suddenly he rolled away from me.  A complete roll - front to back to front. He smiled at me and then did it again. I had to hurry up and get up and stop him from banging his head into the footboard. I picked him up and put him by the pillows again and he rolled all the way to the footboard again. He did this for about 10 minutes, he was just having a ball.  I tried putting him on his play mat and he just laid there.  Maybe a couple more days on the bed and he'll be ready for his play mat.

Sleep Update: He slept from 7pm to 4:15am last night. He made a fuss around 11pm but when I was finally ready to go in he fell back asleep. After a quick feed at 4:15, he slept in until 7:50.  And while 9 hours is great hopefully he'll continue to stretch it out to 7 or 8am.

Baby Foodie

Today GV got to have acorn squash for the first time today. He loved it! For the first time as soon as he was done he had his mouth wide open ready for the next mouthful. Normally I have to seize mouth openings to get food into him.

So far he's tried avocado, sweet potato, brown rice cereal, oatmeal, green beans, carrots, pears, bananas and apples. Avocado was his first food. It was during Thanksgiving. He was ambivalent about it but would eat it. Then sweet potatoes (that were really white!) over Christmas. He wasn't too fond of them and his guts went off so we stopped. Then when we got home we tried normal colored sweet potatoes again and he liked it more than avocado. Then brown rice cereal and I couldn't get more than the first spoonful in. Then oatmeal and that was better.

I tried banana but he hated the mashed up texture. He loved helping me eat my banana so I bought these and while they worked in theory, he'd get banana all over himself, then the banana would disappear in the holder bit and cleaning it was a pain in the a$$ because the mesh doesn't come clean. So now that he's 8 months I smash it between my fingers before giving it to him and he eagerly eats it now. Pears and apples he didn't seem too fond of but I mix them with oatmeal and he'll usually eat them all up.

Green beans were a horrible fail. Carrots were by far his favorite though. If I mix carrots with something I can get him to eat anything (like green beans). A mixture of green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes were his favorite though. BTW in case you can't tell I make all of his food (besides the rice cereal and oatmeal) using this machine. I love it! I got it for my birthday and it rocks! I got these from IKE.A (the pink ones) and they are the perfect size and shape for freezing food.

So today was acorn squash. Personally I hate squash so I was fully prepared for him to hate it too but he didn't. I did mix it with a bit of carrot though so I'll have to see if tomorrow he'll eat it when it's just squash. Next up is yogurt and then I'm hoping to find some peaches. I've been trying to buy organic. The popular grocery store here has a horrible organic section but Swee.tbay rocks. I've found nearly everything there. According to WholesomeBabyFoods.com other fruits we should be trying are apricots, mango, nectarines, papaya, plums/prunes and pumpkin. We'll see though. I do want to try these though as food seems to be the only thing he doesn't instinctively put in his mouth right now.

Sleep training update: GV woke up at 3am the other night and needed a 10 minute feed to go back to bed. He then woke early at 6:30am (he's normally up at 8am) but since I had a dinner last night at 7pm I just adjusted his schedule.  He was in bed for the night by 6:50pm (feeding started 30 minutes early) then woke up at 9 and Kevin had to give him a 4oz bottle to get him back to sleep. He slept till 1 and then another 10 minute feed but then he slept till 7:40am. Tonight he went to bed at 7pm and other than a few fusses has been sleeping quietly. Also his naps are now tummy naps. He finally likes them.

Sleep Training

So my parenting style would not ever be called AP. Some people might think it is. I cloth diaper, I babywear and I even slipped up and co-slept. But still if you consider AP to be on one side and Ba.bywise to be on the other I will admit that I'm closer to the Babyw.ise side of the scale.

To me cloth (and hybrid) diapers make sense. You're doing laundry anyways so why not diapers. Plus Kevin was on board with the whole thing from the beginning so it made it so much easier. That's not to say that GV hasn't ever been in disposables. He has. But only because of extenuating circumstance.

I have a Babyh.awk Mei Tai that I love using with GV. Well when he likes it. Again, it just made sense. Sometimes GV would not be put down and I had stuff that needed to get done (like his laundry) and it was so much easier when I could "wear" him. It was like being pregnant again. Everything was a little more awkward but I could get around and get stuff done.

I guess where I really differ from AP is sleeping. At one of the first ped appts for GV Dr. G (the ped not the RE) told us not to let GV go longer than 3 hours w/o feeding. If he was asleep then to wake him up and feed. Even at night. Then it was no longer than 4 hours at night, then 5, then 6. And so we kind of stumbled into sleep training. I read Babywi.se and this blog and the whole eat-play-sleep cycle made sense to me so we implemented it. Tried to do that whole dreamfeed thing (which didn't really work for us, I couldn't really ever wake him up enough for it and disrupted his night time sleep even more). At 10 weeks I stopped trying to do a dreamfeed and GV started sleeping from 8pm to 7am. We didn't because we'd become use to waking twice a night, but he was "sleeping like a baby". Sometimes he would wake but would settle himself back to sleep.

Then we went to England for Christmas. And stayed with the in-laws. In the same room as GV, across the hall from Mum & Dad and SIL and her boyfriend. Maybe we could tune-out GV fussing but we didn't think they could (they are seriously the lightest sleepers in the world!!) so anytime GV woke up I nursed him back to sleep. We even co-slept most nights because it was the quickest way to get him quiet again. I'm not a fan of co-sleeping because I am a deep sleeper. I was always worried that I would roll over him. Once after nursing he actually rolled forward into me (he was asleep and I had fallen asleep and then woke up with a start and then panic). So anyways our nights started with GV going to bed around 7pm, then being woken up by Kevin and I going to bed at 11 and being nursed back to sleep and then he'd wake up again around 3 or 4 to fuss (like he normally does) but I'd nurse him back to sleep.

And once we got back from England GV wanted to continue with the nursing twice a night again. Kevin and I tried everything I could think of. I'm not a fan of CIO but I was seriously at wits end (I should mention that me minus sleep is a horrible horrible version of me). So we tried once. We let him CIO for five minutes before we went in. And then it took us an hour to calm him down. Then I fed him and he went back to sleep within a couple of minutes. So that went out the window. Then GV got really good at rolling onto his tummy. Which he didn't want to sleep on. And he discovered sleeping on his side. Which he loves. But he hasn't mastered that perfect balance yet so the crying bouts were getting worse and more frequent. Then naps started to slip and finally bedtime became nonexistent. And then nursing was only lasting for a couple of minutes before he fell asleep. But he would wake up as soon as I put him in his bed. And I became desperate. Kevin and I would reach different breaking points. When he was ready to re-try CIO I would go in and feed GV and when I was ready for CIO he would go play with GV.

But then last night GV woke up at 9:30. And after reading a few sleep training blog entries I decided this was it. So I went and patted him on the chest and gave him a couple of kisses and then I walked back out. And sat in the kitchen for 7 minutes listening to him cry. When time was up I went back in and flipped him back onto his back and walked out again. I folded his clothes for 9 minutes listening to him cry. Then I went in and flipped him back onto his back, fixed his blanket and walked out. Eleven minutes later Kevin went into his room, flipped him back over and walked out. For the next 13 minutes we sat in the living room listening to his crying turn to fussing and sometimes 30-45 seconds of silence. Then we both went in and I fed him. Two minutes later he was asleep again. And he slept until 8:15 this morning. I woke up twice to go check on him and he was sleeping on his tummy (shocking!).

Tonight GV went to bed at 7 and then woke up at 9pm. Kevin and I went in right away and I was able to get him to quiet down rather quickly and so I tried putting him back in his crib (the normal point he starts to cry) and he fussed a bit but then once he had his blanket he went back to sleep. This is the first time in a long while he's gone back to sleep w/o nursing. Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll be posting that he slept through the night again.

One Year

I realized this morning when I was in mass that it was a year ago this weekend that I got my BFP. Well I got three BFPs because I tested on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was such a surreal experience that weekend.  Remembering at mass was perfect time and place to thank God for the miracle that is my son. Sometimes I forget to take time in my day to thank Him. But I never fail to cry a happy tear that I have GV.  But especially at these times I remember all of you that are still waiting for your BFP. Please know that I'm still praying for you and wishing that you'll get your BFP.

Today GV giggled for the first time.  We were eating lunch at myParent's house and GV woke up from his nap. Wiki was holding him across the table from Kevin and I. We both started talking and smiling at him and while he was looking at Kevin he made a giggling noise.  We all started laughing but then something upset GV so we had to stop. I'll be waiting for next time.

3 months

So GV is 3 months old now! Wow! He's 13w5d today. Last time I weighed him he was 17.5 lbs already! Yes, I have a "healthy" baby.  Our RIC pediatrician told us it would take 9 months to double his birthweight and GV is going to do it by 4 months probably.

He smiles all the time now (it took him till 7 weeks to actually smile) but of course we couldn't get one out of him when he did his 3 month pictures last Wednesday.

He still hates pacifiers but will happily suck/chew on his or my fingers.

He loves sleeping but hates falling asleep. His morning nap is the surest. He fall asleep on his own and sleep for about 2 hours around 95% of the time. His noon nap is about an 80% probability that he will fall asleep on his own and sleep for 2 hours. His afternoon nap is about 50/50. Sometimes he'll sleep and sometimes he won't. Sometimes he'll put himself to sleep and sometimes I have to hold him (very still) till he falls asleep. Sometimes he sleeps for 2 hours and sometimes I can only get 1/2 out of him. This one is the most annoying because usually I'm trying to clean up and make dinner before Kevin gets home.  And then it doesn't happen because I'm entertaining the kid or holding him and walking around the kitchen island in circles. His evening nap only has about a 5% success rate.  Sometimes I don't even try.  I just wait till 9pm when I KNOW he'll fall asleep. I know I should make his bedtime earlier but when I did it backfired hugely on me and he was getting so upset that by the time I got him to calm down and actually relax enough to fall asleep it was 10:30pm. So we're sticking to 9pm for now.  But once he's down for the night it's usually till 5 or 6 the next morning. This past week he even made it to 7:30 (his usual wake up time) a couple of times.

I'm doing good. At 3 weeks after GV was born I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I want to work on losing some weight between GV and the next one (hopefully!) but I'm waiting till he weans. And yes I'm thinking I'm going to let him self wean.

We are still looking for a house. Maybe I'm just pickier than I thought but I seriously didn't think that it would be this hard - 4 bedrooms, 1800+ sq ft., nice kitchen, garage/off street parking, nice neighborhood, enough yard for the dogs (not that much really) and 30 minute max. commute to work for Kevin. It's got to be out there somewhere.

300

Hello Friends. Yes it's me and I've been a bad blogger. Both reading and commenting. A few days I can blame on not having an internet connection at home but not really since I have an ip.hone.

Things are going well. We're in St.P now in our furnished luxury apartment. We've got the place for the next 30 days, possibly 60 days if we can't find a house in time. Hopefully we will.  I'm a bit worried about our realtor though because she seems like and expert in St.P but when it comes to TPA she is woeful. As in when we said South TPA she gave us Rivervi.ew.  Rivervi.ew is 20 miles away!!! So right now we're concentrating on St.P and if we can't find anything we might ask for a new realtor that specializes in South TPA.

GV is doing fantastic. He's asleep right now, which is great because it's the first time since we moved that he's actually gone to sleep at his bedtime. Of course first he had to nurse for 50 minutes. We haven't had one of those since the first few weeks. He usually only nurses for 15-20 minutes.

The best though is that he's sleeping through the night! Yes! I know I'm jinxing myself by telling you all but I'm super excited about it.  First he dropped his 2am feeding at 6 weeks. Then he dropped sleeping between his 8pm and 11pm feeding. At 9 weeks I got him to sleep again between the 8pm and 11pm feeding but then he would only feed about 5 minutes at 11pm and reintroduced the 2am feed. Then when we stayed at the hotel (10 weeks) after the movers came he was sleeping so deeply that I didn't want to wake him for his 11pm feed. So I let him sleep. And he did! Till like 5am! Woohoo! So he's now gotten rid of the 11pm and 2am feed. Now we just need to work on the last one, the 5am feed. Then we'll be going 8pm to 8am! Almost there! The other night he woke up at 2am cause his legs got caught between the slats in his crib and wouldn't go back to sleep w/o a feeding and I was worried about him reverting but nope, he's still sleeping to about 5am to 6am.  Here's to hoping that it stays this way!

BTW, this is post #300. 

Today Today Today Today

Today is myMom's birthday. She's turning 57. I'm 32. When I'm 57 GV will be 24. If he waits as long to have kids as I did (plus thanks to IF it took a longer than average time to happen) then I will be 65 when I get my first grandchild. It's so weird to think that far in the future. My prayer is that both of us are still around in 2034.

Today is my 2nd Blogoversary. Yep! Two years ago today Dr. P and I came up with a plan to fight PCOS (which I didn't have) with weight loss (didn't happen) and clomid (which worked but 15 months later). My life is so different now. Even from a year ago. Sometimes it's still a bit surreal. Sometimes I just want to hug GV a little bit longer and harder than necessary because I still can't believe he's real and he's here and he's mine (ours). When will that feeling stop? Do I want it to?

Today the furniture people called and said that they're for sure delivering tomorrow. After 15 weeks it has arrived in the RIC and is on it's way to my house. Of course the owner of said furniture store called and tried to get me to make that first payment again before he would deliver the furniture. See I disputed the original charge with VISA after the third time they postponed my delivery date. I then conferenced the CC company who told him that he HAD to deliver the furniture before VISA would release the funds they seized. She very nicely explained that I was not holding onto the money, VISA was and that VISA would release only on proof of delivery. So anyways, GV will finally have a crib and dresser! And he only had to wait till he was 8 weeks old! As a side note the owner of the furniture store was the original owner of my house (it was built in 1992). Small world.

Today they put the FOR RENT sign on my house. That makes me a bit sad to think of moving out of this house. This is our first house. The house we chose together, the house we got engaged in (literally), got married in, struggled with TTC in and then welcomed GV home to.  Even though I gripe about this house sometimes, I don't want to leave.

So about the whole DH job situation, Kevin's last day on the job was July 30th. Fortunately about a week after we got back from Chicken's wedding (June 26th) a recruiter called Kevin and asked him if he would be interested in a job in Ta.mpa Bay (I don't think I've mentioned where in Florida I grew up but it's Tam.pa). Well the job is in St.P which is just across the bay.  So he said sure and a couple of phone interviews later they wanted him to travel down for a face to face interview on July 22nd.  He was only gone overnight (I did fine on my own with GV) and by Friday he had a verbal offer.  So we're moving. I'm excited to be moving back to family and friends. I wanted GV to grow up with family. But I'm not excited about going back to Florida. I don't like the heat, the humidity, the beach or the traffic. But I like having an income, I love my family and I really love that with the new salary Kevin is getting we can afford for me to stay home with GV. My goal is to start freelancing again when GV is about 6 months old.

This weekend is GV's baptism.  We decided to do it at the church we got married at here in RVA.  My grandfather (who is my confirmation sponsor) and Wiki are going to be the godparents. They along with my parents are coming up this weekend. On top of that Mum & Dad are here (till the 22nd) so we're going to have a full house! Well only during the day.  Gpa, Wiki, myMom and myDad are all staying at a hotel. Not a normal thing for my family (we usually cramp into the house no matter how many people) but we only have one bed at the moment (Kevin and I are sleeping on an air mattress) so we made an exception.

I promise the next update will come sooner. I'm still reading, mainly on my iph.one which doesn't lend itself to posting or commenting very well, so keep me updated too!

Sleepy Baby

So I finally got GV to sleep in his playpen without waking up.  The past few days he's been waking up almost as soon as I put him down to sleep. While I love that his favorite place to sleep is in my arms, I'm doing my back in from holding him. So I ordered a mei tai from BabyHawk. Now I'm chomping at the bit to get it.  I knew there were instructions here to make your own but considering that it's taken me 6 weeks and I'm no where near even at least half way done crocheting GV's blanket.  I think pulling out the sewing machine and going to the store for fabric would be just too much.

GV is doing fantastic.  His one month checkup was on Tuesday (5 weeks). He's now 24" tall - 98%tile, 11 lbs 14 oz - 90%tile and his head is 15.5" - 69%tile. He got his HepB shot too. That needle was huge! He did not enjoy it at all and let everyone know with a big wail. But he calmed down real quick with a big hug from me and some comforting words from Kevin. The ped noticed some stiffness in his neck when turning his head to the right, which is why he's more prone to look/rest his head to the left rather than right. She said it wasn't a big deal but we have to do a chin to shoulder stretch and an ear to shoulder stretch. He does not like the ear to shoulder stretch.

In other news, this is my first post from my new MBP! That's right, I got a Ma.cBook Pr.o! So exciting! It's my new mom gift. It was between that and a ip.hone 4. But since I'm not an early adopter type of Mac fan I went with the MBP.

Also some more exciting news: Kevin got a job offer! It's only a verbal offer but the letter is on it's way (hopefully!). Yes it means we're moving. Out of state. I don't want to jinx ourselves though so I'll write more about it on Monday since we should get the letter then.

One Month

Dear GV,

Today you are one month old. Wow! How did we get here? You are such a special baby. Your daddy and I love you so very much. You were worth the wait.

You've had a great and busy month.

• You started in the NICU but did so well that you came out in less than 24 hours. 
• When you came home both Dave and Les were infatuated with you. Dave watched over you and Les was unhappy with us anytime you fretted or cried.  
• You got your first bottle from Daddy at 4 days.  Mom & Nina went out during your 2pm feeding so Dad took care of you.
• Even though we had a rocky start to breastfeeding, you became a champion and it only took you 6 days to get back up to birth weight. 
• Your first road trip (to Florida for Chicken's wedding) was at 6 days. You were a great traveller!
• You met Chicklet for the first time at 8 days! She gave you a big hug!
• You rolled over at 9 days! All by yourself. Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Nina and I were all there watching you do it.
• Your first party was at 10 days. Chicken & J's rehearsal dinner. You slept through the whole thing.
• Your second party was at 11 days. Chicken & J's wedding.  You and I had our first mother-son dance. I cried because I was so happy.
• First beach visit at 12 days. We only spent about 5 minutes there because you and your mommy got really hot.
• Second road trip at 13 days. Back home. Also, you pooped on your mommy. So much poop that it came out of your diaper. Ugh!
• Grandma and Grandpa arrived for their visit when you were 17 days old. Nina missed you so much that she came too.
• Your first 4th of July at 19 days. Grandma was so excited you had three(!) outfits to wear that day. You lost your umbilical cord today.
• You met your Uncle E at 20 days. You also went out to eat for the first time. You did great! Also you pooped on your Dad while he was feeding you. Ha! Ha!
• Because your ped was on vacation when you hit 2 weeks you didn't go for your 2 week checkup till you were 3 weeks old. You rocked the scale at 10lbs 1oz. Someone is a great nurser!
• That day you finally started using your gpants. Mommy wanted to get a picture of the g on your bum, but you didn't want to. So you rolled over. Again and again. About 6 or 7 times. 
• Your first bath was at 22 days. You liked it at first but then wanted to be dry again. Like now. We took way too long to pat you dry.
• Our first day on our own was at 29 days. Nina had gone home long ago, Grandma & Grandpa has left a few days earlier and Daddy went back to work. We had a great day and were very excited when Daddy came home for lunch and at the end of the day.

You are such a good baby. You only get upset when you're hungry.  Much like your dad. Also you don't like having your diaper changed at night. We're hoping that having a wipes warmer will make this a much more pleasant experience. You don't like being hot but you love being outdoors. You don't like being strapped into your car seat but love being swung while in your car seat. During the day you like to be awake after feedings for about an hour or so and then you're ready for a nap. You get the hiccups, a lot. "They" say they don't bug you, but they bug me. You don't like pacifiers. You have 8 and you don't like any of them. I think it's because you don't see the point of them.

Daddy and I love you so much. You are the best part of us.

Love,
Mommy
xxx

The Day Between

So I've been holding onto this post for the past week.  There are so many things that I want to write about but between all the stuff happening, my innate laziness and all our visitors this post is taking forever to finish.  So I will hit publish at the end of this moment of silence and we'll see what happens.

• First, GV is a fantastic baby.  According to sources he looks exactly like me.  He has Kevin's ears though. Pointy Spock ears.  He also has Kevin's wrinkled forehead.  But he has my eyes and nose.
• The gdiapers are going okay.  We used the tiny gpants once we got home from the hospital but then switched to disposables on the way down to Florida and while in Florida. Then it was just easier to stay on them (myMom bought a huge box that we still haven't gone through yet) but finally decided to save them for trips out and about since it's easier.  Now we're using size small little gpants. A couple of leaks and but at least we haven't had poo leaks like we've had with the the 'sposies.
• Breastfeeding is going great. I have a post coming about it.
• We had our first ped appt the day after we came home from the hospital and GV was doing great.  He has a blocked tear duct on his right eye.  He weighed in at 8lbs 6 oz.  She thought it was the lowest he'd get. She also wants us to time feedings during the day to about 2-2.5 hours apart and feedings at night to 4 hours apart.  We often had to wake him up for his day feedings and magically we had to wake him up a couple of times for his night feedings.
• Our second ped appt was at 6 days (Monday).  She wanted us to come in on Tuesday but because we were going down to Florida we had to do Monday.  GV was up to 8lbs 10oz. His birth weight! Also we got prescribed something for his eye. Putting that in was painful, not for GV, for us.
• The trip down to Florida (Monday-Tuesday) went well.  Originally Wiki was going to fly back down to Florida on the Saturday but she didn't so that she could drive down with us.  We had to stop every two and a half hours to feed GV but he did well. We stopped in SC overnight and Kevin had a job interview that morning. It went well (we think) but we're not sure what's going to come of it. Right now there's not actually a position, but they're interested in Kevin. We got to Florida around 1am.  After a quick feeding GV got to spend some time with his grandparents.
• I had my first tear filled meltdown when we started the drive down to Florida. Everytime we got into the car I was really freaked out about how GV's chin would rest on his chest. I thought for sure he would stop breathing and worse I would be sitting right next to him and not know till it was too late.  I tried explaining my concern to Kevin and Wiki but the weren't as concerned as I was and so I burst into tears before we even got out of RVA. But I texted Chicken and she had the same fears I did so she told me to use receiving blankets to prop up his head.  I could breathe after doing that.
• I seriously thought there was going to be a throw down between myDad, myMom & Wiki over who would hold GV first after feedings.

Okay fretting. More later.

Hello My Son, part two

When GV was born he didn't give out that lusty cry (he was making noise though).  They cleaned him up while he was on me and then after a short while moved him to the baby station the check him over.  Because he wasn't giving that lusty cry they were concerned that he wasn't clearing the fluid out of his lungs and fully opening the air sacs in his lungs.  They still couldn't get him to cry out and the decision was made to NICU. Meanwhile Dr. P was seeing to me (2nd degree tear). They eventually let Wiki back into the room (she left when I started pushing) so we all got to see him until they took him away.

In the NICU they gave GV an IV and started him on antibiotics.  Apparently when they stuck him he gave the yell but because they started the IV they had to finish it up. Which is messed up because they gave him the IV because he wouldn't cry out.

Around 4pm they transferred me to the postpartum room but we got to stop by the NICU first. GV was so precious and little in that special bed but then you'd look at the other babies next to him and he was a giant compared to them. We weren't allowed to hold him then but they said when he got moved to the other NICU room then we would get to hold him. We were told that we could visit with him whenever we wanted but that at 9pm he would have a feeding.

We went to the room and updated family and made phone calls and such. Also the postpartum nurse brought the hospital breast pump so that I could start pumping since I couldn't breastfeed right away.  The amount I got was pathetic considering I had those things on my boops for 15 minutes.  But they said it was a good amount.  The NICU nurse had said to send anything down and they would add it to the formula he would be getting at 9pm.  When Wiki dropped it off they had already moved him down to the other room.  We went down for his feeding (we missed it by a few minutes) but I finally got to hold him.  He was so quiet and with such huge eyes. Kevin got to hold him afterwards. Wiki went home after the visit and the NICU nurse said that I should pump for the next feeding but then we would try to get him to latch and nurse for a bit after his midnight feeding.

Hello My Son

On Monday morning, June 14th, around 3:15am I woke up with a bad AF-type cramp.  It passed after a few minutes and I fell back asleep. Then about 30 minutes later I had another one. That was the pattern for the day.  A cramp every 30-45 minutes, nothing bad, just uncomfortable.  So I was looking forward to my OB appt & NST because I thought for sure I would be more dilated or something. I even warned Kevin that I might be calling him after my appt and having him meet me at the hospital.

My appt was at 1pm. Dr. P was at the hospital with a delivery so I saw the on call OB instead. He was horrible. Let's just say that he wasn't the gentlest of doctors when doing the cervical check. I was still at less than 1 cm. The NST was okay. GV didn't really move that much but I had a couple of cramps while hooked up on the machine so I was able to see those and his reaction to them.  Afterwards Wiki and I went to a couple of stores and then met Kevin back at the house for a late dinner. Before dinner, around 7pm, the cramps started to get more frequent and hurt a bit more. They were about four to five minutes apart. Wiki wanted me to call the OB but I wanted to wait. Since I hadn't had any Braxton-Hicks, I wanted to make sure these weren't them.  I knew eating/drinking and lying down could help relieve them so we had dinner and afterwards I laid down on the couch. They slowed to around 8 minutes apart.  But then the cramps changed to contractions. The pain was low (under the belly) but then would move around to my lower back. Plus they went to being 3-4 minutes apart. So finally around 10pm I called the OB. It was the same OB I saw in the morning. Grrr. But he did say that I should go in to the hospital. Kevin finished off the hospital bag and then we got in his car while Wiki drove my car.

Somehow my purse ended up in my car with Wiki so when we got to the hospital they wouldn't do anything because I didn't have my ID or insurance card. Kevin kept explaining to them that my sister had my stuff and the lady kept saying that I needed it before I could go to L&D. They accused Kevin of "freaking out" which he got really annoyed about. Finally Wiki showed up right when the L&D nurse did so she told them she was taking me back while Wiki finished off my registration.  What was especially annoying was that I had pre-registered and gone in on Friday to finish off my registration (in case of induction) and they still wouldn't let me in until they saw my ID and insurance card and asked me tons of questions which I had already answered multiple times.

I finally made it to the room around 10:45pm. I got the first cervical check around 11:20pm and was 1-2 cm. They told me since I had made progress since my appt that afternoon that the on call OB said I could have an epidural as soon as I wanted.  The pain wasn't that bad so I told them not yet.  It wasn't that I didn't want an epidural, it's just that I had a fear of them sticking something in my spine. I knew the pain was going to have to be bad enough that the fear was negated.  Anyways they gave me something that took the edge off but around 1am it wore off and I was ready for the epidural.

They let Kevin stay in the room with me but made Wiki leave.  They did the first part of the epidural (where I think they numb you up) and then when the anesthesiologist tried to do the second part I got a shooting pain that wrapped around my left lower back. I yelled.  They tried getting me to explain the pain and I couldn't very well.  So he tried again and I yelled in pain again with the eyes watering up.  He asked me if I had any back injuries and I told him no. He tried once more and this time it was more of a scream with tears falling.  So finally he decided to try a different location. I didn't feel a thing this time.  Later while I was thinking about it, I do have this thing with my back sometimes.  If I'm sitting and I stretch sometimes I'll trigger a pinched nerve in my back (pain on the left side). So I think he found it. If I have more kids I'll have to find out which vertebrae they should not touch!

Shortly after the epidural (1:30am) they checked me again and I was 3-4 cm.  At this point they told us we could get some sleep since we were just waiting for the dilation to happen on it's own. With the epidural in this was possible so we sent Wiki home and Kevin coverted the couch to a bed and settled in. The nurse came back around 3am for another check and I was at 5.5 cm.  Then when the on call OB showed up at 6am they checked me again (boy was I glad for the epidural when he had to check me) and I was at 6 cm and GV was at -1 position.  They decided to break the sac to help aid in dilation (figuring the pressure of GV on the cervix would help). Right after they broke the bag though I got hit with a sudden wave of nausea and my dinner came back out.  It was the first time I lost any meal during this entire pregnancy.

Dr. P came in around 10am and I was at 7-8 cm.  The nurse was guessing that I'd deliver before noon. But then the infection came.  I got the shakes real bad and my temperature started rising.  GV's heartbeat shot up above the normal range.  They gave me oxygen hoping to bring his heartbeat back down but it wasn't doing anything.  So they gave me some antibiotics and kept a close watch on GV.  They also started talking about possibly having to do a c-section because of the infection but when they checked me again just before noon, I was at 9.75 cm but with an anterior lip. By this time Dr. P was around. They needed the lip to go away before I could start pushing. So we waited a bit and after about half an hour it was gone so I could start pushing. But then GV turned from being face down so Dr. P had to help him reposition. But in less than an hour GV was born. They placed him on me and Kevin and I got to say hello to our son. He was born at 1:20pm, 8 lbs 10 oz and 22.5 inches.

Down but not out

GV is in his playard, being quiet, but not sleeping.  He got the hiccups right after his feeding which woke him up from his feeding induced nap.  He's gotten rid of them but now he'll be lying there awake most of the interval between feedings.  At least he's not crying. Okay, now he's starting to make noise...

Last night was actually one of the best nights we've had since we got back home from Florida. He woke up to nurse, nursed and then went back to bed twice.  With at least three hours between feedings. Then after the third one he stayed up a bit. Kevin has been great about getting up and seeing if he can get him to go back down before waking me up. Kevin has been great about a lot of things. But more on that later.

Okay you can't tell but there was an hour break there because GV started fussing a lot.  So I had to take him upstairs to his swing. But I did manage to get his room back in order.  Since his birth we've just been dumping everything in his room. It stayed a mess because we're not really using his room yet. Once we get his furniture in (still not around!) then we'll start using the room more.

And it's time for his next feeding. Gotta go wake him up now. Well get him up, I can hear him stirring. Can I just tell you how much I love this kid? A lot!

GV is here

Admitted

We're in the hospital, hooked to the machines, contemplating an
epidural. GV is on his way!!

Wiki Weekend

First, GV is still in. He is one day late.

This weekend was pretty low key. Friday we watched the world c.up game then went to lunch. Cousin E left afterward and Wiki and I went to my appt at the hospital.  I had to fill out some forms, answer some questions and then give some blood. They are all ready for me on Tuesday. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping and running errands.

Saturday was more wor.ld cup games and of course the England vs. USA game. Big game in the house.  Kevin thought it was going to be a England over USA 5-0. Wiki was hoping for USA over England 2-1 and I thought it would be a 1-1 tie. Then when England scored in the first 4 minutes, Wiki and I got a bit worried. But we were able to come back. Maybe next time we'll get the win. We finished out the night with a visit to Col.dstone.

Yesterday we went to church (after catching some more world cu.p games) and then hung out here. I'm sure it's gotta be pretty boring for Wiki (who's an always-on-the-go kind of gal) but she's been holding up. 

Today I've been up sporadically since 3 am with menstrual type cramps.  They could be labor pains but I'm not sure.  I've got an appointment at 1 so they can tell me then.  myDad is excited because today is the day he picked in the baby pool.

Wiki has landed

Wiki is on her way to RIC now (probably after stopping for food though). She flew in Norfolk because Southw.est doesn't fly here. My cousin who lives in Va Beach (who I very rarely see) is driving her into town because Kevin wasn't too comfortable with me driving out to get her (around a 2 hour trip each way).  Luckily my cousin was actually free this afternoon.

I still haven't cleared out the office yet.  Maybe she can sleep in GV's room for tonight. I did clean the kitchen floors though! Which was the one thing Kevin asked me to do. He mentioned vacuuming but then didn't bring the vacuum downstairs (it's really heavy and I'm not so good walking downstairs when I'm not pregnant) this morning. So I'll just wait till he gets home or do it tomorrow.

I also managed to finish addressing the birth announcements. I had them preship the envelopes. I also ordered 5 extra in case of really bad mistakes (I believe in white-out as long as you get the name bit right) but somehow my order of 55 + 5 turned into 67. Yeah, not sure about their math. But I'm going to have to order more because of myDad's side of the family. I'm sending it to his brothers and sisters (plus my cousins who actually live on their own) and aunts and uncles but not his cousins. It was still a lot though.

Okay I gotta get back to cleaning.

Appointments and Plans

Today was my 39w appt. Weight was down 3 lbs but Dr. P is not worried about it because the past two weeks I've had some swelling of the feet/ankles/hands and this week not so much.  Next was doppler time! The nurse was able to find his heartbeat pretty fast. 136bpm.  Everything else is looking good. Dr. P did another cervical check and the good news is that I'm no longer closed.  I'm not quite to 1cm, but at least it's open now.

We also talked about next week. The plan is that on Monday I'm going to go in for an NST to make sure that everything is okay with GV. Then Tuesday evening I'll go into the hospital to start the induction process (she mentioned gel) with the hope that I'll deliver on Wednesday. She said that if everything was okay on Monday and I didn't want to induce we could wait until the week after but that in her opinion it was better to induce between 40 and 41 weeks.

Kevin has been talking to GV nightly, reminding him that he's suppose to be coming out now. His preference is that GV is born by Wednesday night, that way we might be home in time for the start of the World Cup. And deffo by the England v. USA game.

BTW, work called me again today. Again a quick fix. 2 for 2 so far!