Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, Happy 2 Months to me

I just had my 2 month check up and I weigh 10.8 lbs (31%) and I'm 23.5 inches tall (74%). Momma has pretty much put away all my newborn clothes now and she ordered some onesie extenders to accommodate my growing length and my bulky cloth diapers.

I've grown developmentally too!  I'm making eye contact and smiling.  I'll even chuckle a little occasionally.  I gave my daddy a treat last weekend when I gave him his first good smiles from me AND my first laughs ever.

I'm also getting better at my motor control.  I love to play on my play mat (sometimes for over half an hour!) practicing my hand-eye coordination by hitting the toys and making them jingle and rattle.  I also like to suck/gnaw on my fingers and thumb, so I've been working on getting my hand to my mouth when I want it.  My parents think I'm going to be right-handed b/c that's the one I use more already.

I take after my momma because I love to sleep at night.  On a rough night I'll wake up after 5 hrs to feed, but most nights she can count on me staying down for 6-8 hrs before I'm too hungry to sleep anymore.  She says she's lucky to have such an easy baby b/c she'd be a wreck without HER sleep.

My 3 yr old cousin Elijah took this picture!

I'm also like momma b/c I almost always sneeze twice; I guess my Poppoo Roger is a multi-sneezer too. (You can catch me sneezing at the end of this video.  Sorry for the noise; my daddy's video game is a little loud)  For now I still have blue eyes, and I share momma's fair skin too.

I'm like daddy in a lot of other physical features.  I have daddy's ears and nose and dark hair.  I even have a little of his cowlick too :)  I have a little bit of a sensitive stomach and mommy's had to give up dairy till my digestive system matures a little more.  I'm also not the snuggling type; my parents call me "independent".

I've already started to develop strong opinions about things and don't hesitate to voice them... I guess I get that from both sides! :-D


Daddy loves when he comes home from work and I'm in a good mood so he can play with me and make me smile.  He's got nice dark features so I can see him clearly, and I love when he tweaks my nose.  We like to watch TV together too. He's a little frustrated that I've taken my bottle from strangers, but am still giving him a hard time; mom's convinced we'll get it down this month.

Momma loves it best when she lays me on the changing table and I give her big smiles.  She's so happy that my hair is growing back in already, and she appreciates that I'm starting to settle into a little bit of a routine now that I'm 2 months old.

I've had a great week this week hanging out with my Nanoo Patti.  She took care of me so momma could run some errands during the week and so both my parents could go out for a nice dinner.  She's a pro at getting babies to sleep and has helped me start learning how to suck on my pacifier.

Aunt Chellie got sick and couldn't come this week, so hopefully I'll get to meet her this summer, but my Lola Shelia is coming next Tuesday and I can't wait to meet her!  I've skyped with her, but it'll be so nice to get hugs and kisses in person.

Ash is 1 month old

Today I am one month old. It has been a busy month!
 

I was born at 7.5 lbs, promptly lost a pound and spent a couple weeks gaining it back. At my 2 wk appt I was within an oz or two of birth weight and measuring in the 15th percentile for weight and 77th for height.  I'm still wearing NB size clothes and diapers. Since I'm so long, some of my sleeves are getting short and I might grow out of my NB sleepers at my next growth spurt.

I've spent the whole month improving my technique at breastfeeding and have gotten pretty good at it. I just moved to my "big boy" crib in my own room this week and even slept through almost the whole night.

I've just recently started spending more time awake and interacting with the world. I like to lay on my play mat (thank you great-gpa-Ted!) for 10-20 min at a time. I'm just beginning to find my voice and make occasional outbursts of sound.

My daddy's favorite thing about me right now is when I'm fed and happy and he can play with me in the evenings. He can't wait for me to be able to hold my head steady and start smiling and interacting more.

 

My momma's favorite things about me right now are my new ability to talk and the way I grin & chuckle as I'm falling asleep. She is sad that my hair is falling out and can't wait for the new fuzz to grow in.

My parents love to laugh about the bizarre positions I sleep in and tease me about the faces I pull, but I know they both love me so much.

 The things I'm looking forward in the next month are visits from my Moomer/Nanna Patti and my "Aunt" Chellie. I'll also start taking a bottle with daddy this month and start taking walks with momma when the weather's nice.

Don't cry, I'll be back next month with more updates! :-D

A letter to my husband

Dearest sweet husband,

There is so much in the last three weeks, in the last nine months, in the last (almost) 10 yrs to thank you for - where do I begin? You have been so faithful and loving through the good years and the bad ones. You've put aside your dreams and desires for me to follow my heart in childcare and granted me the gift of mothering your child. You've been supportive and sweet through my pregnancy, doing what you could to help out when I needed it and to be understanding. You stood by my side while I labored, exhausted and worn out with me, but supporting me in all the ways you could. And over the past three weeks you have taken care of us like only a loving husband and father could. You have kept up the housework and finances, set up appts and maintenance for the house, driven us to Dr visits, fetched food and water and anything I needed, run errands for and with us, accommodated my every need, worked to be supportive and understanding through post-partum hormones and exhaustion and breastfeeding struggles. And at the end of all that service, you return to work on a shortage of sleep, supporting us so that I can be home with our son. Your companionship is sorely missed in the quiet house, but you are still deeply appreciated. I hope you know how much you mean to us; we would not BE without you.

Much love,
your grateful wife and newborn son

Post-partum

Pregnancy Wrap-up:

I thought I'd write a little bit about each of the categories I've been commenting on for months.  I meant to have this up a couple weeks ago, or at least last week, but life with a newborn has been busy and exhausting.  Now that Josh is at work and I'm home alone, I'm taking advantage of a short nap-time to finish and post.  This is Ash's first nap in his big crib, by the way; hoping he learns to sleep well there.

How Far Along : born at 41 weeks (3 weeks ago)

Size of Baby : born at 7 lbs 8 oz and 19" long

Total Weight Gain : ~32 lbs

Maternity Clothes : I'm wearing my maternity pants, but they're already pleasantly baggy, as well as some pre-baby sweats. I was shocked at how "jolly" I looked after the baby with my jiggly belly, but love how quickly it is shrinking. I can't wait for my organs to find their way back to their rightful positions. :)  As far as tops, I'm running around almost exclusively in the nursing tanks Jordan sent me.

Best Moment This Week : falling in love over and over.  And any day that involves multiple effortless perfect latches - for anyone who's ever tried to learn breastfeeding, you may know what I mean; for everyone else, let's just say those are less stress and pain filled days, and very welcome!

Gender : boy...he looks like a little old man :)

Movement : he sleeps a lot, but when he's awake he's active and strong. He's got scrawny tiny limbs, but he's always moving them. His eyes are still learning to focus and we have fun teasing him about his crazy eyes and the faces he pulls.

Food Craving : it has been so nice to eat chocolate and tomatoes again!  We've had chili and lasagna and a myriad of other tomato based meals, not to mention tomatoes on my burgers and just snacking on tomatoes (thank you, Lindsey!).  I've already eaten my way through a whole package of double stuff Oreos and have started into a bag of Dove dark chocolates... mmmm.


What I Miss Most : I miss my independence.  Even though I was unable to do some things for myself towards the end, I was at least able to do what I wanted when I wanted.  Now I'm at someone else's beck and call... nursing is a demanding job and without a predictable schedule yet I never know when I'm going to have time to get anything besides nursing done.

Sleep : It is SO nice to be able to sleep in any position I want!  I've done my fair share of enjoying lying on my back and stomach, but have to admit I forgot all about the beauty of being able to curl up into a ball.  Lots of fetal going on, I won't lie.  It's also nice that he's settled into sleeping almost 4 hrs between night feedings, so I'm getting a couple good chunks of sleep.  Now we're just working on getting into bed at a reasonable time since Josh is back to work and has to get up early in the morning.  And hopefully we can land on a sleep schedule that includes one mid-night feeding and then another when Josh's alarm goes off at 5:30am so that I'm not waking at 4:30 (to feed), 5:30 (when the alarm goes off), and 6:30 (when Josh leaves for work)... at least that's the ideal.

What I Am Looking Forward To : While I'm doing my best to cherish every day, these early weeks are hard for me b/c they're foreign.  When he's a couple months old, I'll know better what to do with him and what is developmentally appropriate.  Also at a couple months we should have established some sort of routine, and we all know how I thrive on routine! :-D

Belly Button : mine is almost an innie while my belly continues to shrink back to a smaller size and flatter shape.  His is a definite outtie, which we're hoping will diminish at least a little as time goes by.

Symptoms : I have already almost forgotten what it felt like to be pregnant!  It's only been 3 weeks, but it feels like it's already been a lifetime.  It is so nice to have my energy back (except for losing sleep at night), to be feeling like myself again after the couple weeks it took my body to recover from the birth process, to be able to move freely (when I don't have a baby attached to me externally).  I'm also so glad to be free of the reflux, of course. 

But now my baby boy is waking up and fussy, so I need to go take care of him.  Hopefully soon I'll start regular baby updates....

The journey in pictures

The beginning - at just over 4 wks

At 6.5 wks we got to see that precious little heartbeat

At 9 wks I ran the Steamboat Half Marathon and visited every portapotty along the way...

and the next day we confirmed we still had a heartbeat...

and at 9 wks I was just starting to "pooch"

Still a skinny-minnie at 10 wks, but my clothes are starting to get uncomfortable

12 wks and the pooch is growing

13 wks and still fitting in my old tops but starting to need maternity bottoms

At 16 wks, baby is the size of an avocado... small enough to hold in my hand.

And the pooch continues to grow (16 wks)

17 wks in a shirt that accentuates the growing bump

18 wks at my Bradenton shower

19 wks from Elijah's view

20 wks in my pj's

20 wks we got to see our little angel again and found out it's a boy!

22 wks at Garden of the Gods

22 wks at the zoo

24 wks snapping pictures of myself in the mirror

At 26 wks my belly button is starting to pop

26 wks in pj's

At 30 wks I was preggopotamus for Halloween

My baby shower in Co Spgs was at 32.5 wk

At 35 wks using the timer on my camera while I cook dinner

At 36.5 wks we did a maternity photo shoot with a friend of Lindsey's

At 39.5 wks Jennifer came to visit and we took some pics at Garden of the Gods

Ash Logan is born 1/17/12 at 3:16pm and measures 19in & 7 lbs 8 oz.

We spent 24 hrs at the hospital recovering

Dressed and ready to head home and start our new life together

41 weeks...Hello, Ash Logan

There's a reason you didn't get a weekly update from me last week...I was a little busy last Tuesday. I'll warn you now, this story is LOOONG and detailed and will have some "eww, tmi!" moments, so read on at your own risk.

I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks, and they were gradually getting stronger. We even thought they might be leading to something Sunday evening while I sat around with my parents who had flown in the day before. But Monday morning dawned and they'd died back down, so we went about our business. I felt a little crampy and had a little spotting, which Kari (my doula) said were indications of what was to come, but I knew it could still be days till delivery.

So that night we went to bed, and ... well, I'll leave out a detail or two here ... but shortly after we had laid down to sleep (around 11pm) I started having contractions. These were stronger and more painful than before, so I started timing them. They were every 3 minutes almost on the dot and so painful I got out of bed and went downstairs so my squirming wouldn't keep Josh awake. After almost an hour of timing them and what I thought was probably my water breaking, I texted Kari to let her know and she asked me a bunch of questions and said she'd come over. I came upstairs and sat through a contraction in our bathroom, and Josh heard me groaning and asked if I was ok. I told him Kari was coming, so he got up and dressed and ready for what was to come.

When she arrived shortly after midnight we spent a while downstairs keeping quiet so we wouldn't wake my sleeping parents. Then we moved up to the bedroom and labored for the rest of the night there. We tried a variety of positions - lying, sitting on the toilet, standing, showering...anything to try to be "comfortable". Kari encouraged me to try to eat, so I downed a handful of blueberries, but couldn't stomach anything else. As we reached the wee hours, I started falling asleep on my feet, so Kari had me and Josh lay down (i chose the floor b/c the bed was too soft) and she sat by me and encouraged me to rest/sleep between contractions. I had a brief, God-given lull of a few "gentle" ones in a row and so we all dozed off for 15 min or so. As the morning dawned, we moved back downstairs. Then my water broke in earnest and there was blood (normal) and a little bit of meconium (cause for mild concern), so Kari suggested we get ready to head to the hospital. Josh woke my parents to let them know and gathered last minute things, and out we went. I had become so dependent on Kari to get through contractions I begged her to come with us in our car. We got to the hospital and she came back with me while they checked my vitals and my cervix and propped me, and moved me to L&D where Josh joined us.

This portion of the morning is a little hazy b/c I was so exhausted, but I remember snippets like meeting my sweet nurse (Jessie). My parents arrived and shortly after my mom asked if she could come in. I said I didn't know, b/c at that point I just couldn't form an opinion about anything beyond what I was experiencing directly. She came and sat in a chair in the corner and I'm so glad she did. Eventually she was called over to help with something and became an integral part of my support team.

We tried a variety of positions in the hospital bed as well, some of which were more comfortable than others, but really nothing is comfortable when you're 12 hrs into labor. Around 11am I started to feel the urge to push. At first I was pushing weakly, and Kari helped me to figure out how to focus the pushes. A lot of the pushing I did was in the traditional position with Jessie holding my left leg up, Kari holding my right leg up, mom at my left shoulder and Josh my right helping me get into a semi-sitting position when the contraction built to peak pushing time. Through this time I was in a haze, Josh was lying his exhausted head down to rest between contractions, and I could only muster one-word sentences at most. I remember singing worship songs once when I felt so overwhelmed I didn't think I could go on, and I remember being frustrated with Ash for not being out yet. I also remember them laughing at me b/c I kept thanking everyone for everything, but I knew even in the midst of it that I needed every bit of help they were giving. Then Jessie had to grab her lunch, so Nurse Betty stepped into her spot. She was a sweet but strong older woman who came in and started being a coach (like in sports) - ok, push! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, deep breath, push! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, deep breath, push! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. At first I thought I might kill her, but after she left I realized that I needed that kind of coaching to muster my strength at this point and asked Kari to be "bossy like nurse Betty". It became even more exhausting when the nausea kicked in and I started puking water and blueberry skins with each push. After much pushing in this position or slightly side lying variations, we decided to try all fours to see if we could get his head past my pelvic bone. Once I finished clearing all the puke from my gut, it was a "comfortable" position and it  worked to get him farther down. As I knelt and pushed, they came in and said I'd been pushing too long and when the Dr came in half an hour he'd want to start talking forceps or vacuum assistance. The thought of having to make that decision overwhelmed me and when we rolled back over, my urgent need to get Ash out before the Dr came and the progress we'd made on hands and knees came together to get him where he needed to be.

When the Dr arrived he started trying to stretch me as the baby crowned (i wanted to kill him it hurt so bad), but it became obvious that I was going to tear no matter what, and the tearing was likely to go frontward in a painful way. When Kari supported dr's decision to do an episiotomy, I agreed readily and glad I did when Kari explained later what she saw from her angle and how things would have gone. While contractions had been painful and exhausting, nothing matched the excruciating pain of crowning, and I distinctly remember his ears coming through. My dad remembers hearing lots of screaming from the hall, and I know I was but couldn't help it. Finally they told me I could wait for the next contraction or just muster another push or two on my own and he'd be here, so of course I pushed. Soon I heard the blessed words, "wait, we're at his shoulders" and "ok, one more push, no not that strong, and he's out". They laid him on me purple-grey, severely cone-headed and covered in blood and goo, and all I could feel was relief that it was over.

They took him from me after a few minutes to suction the meconium out of his stomach and weigh and measure him - 7 lbs 8 oz (before they removed a bunch of meconium and fluid from his stomach) and 19". We marveled at Ash's timing - born at 3:16 in room 316. The next couple hours we spent in L&D recovering and passing him around and Josh and I finally ate for the first time in 24 hrs. Daddy and Lindsey and Elijah finally came in from the hall. I was amazed at Elijah's concern for Aunt Nelly - you okay, Nelly? Finally they took us to the nursery for his first bath and vital checks and vitK shot. Then off to post-partum where we would stay the night. My parents stayed with me so that Josh could go home and sleep, then he returned in the morning so they could go home and nap. Then at around 4 pm on the 18th (24 hrs after delivery) we discharged and came home with our bundle of joy.

The week since he came has been a busy one, but that story will wait for another day as being a "dairy farm" is a demanding job and it's time for me to shower and get back to work. :)

Hello, due date!

Jennifer and I went to Garden of the Gods and had fun snapping some more maternity pics.  I posted a few on FB, but thought I'd include some here too.  These are unedited... she's going to go home and play with some of them.  It's like a free photo shoot :)

We just thought this was funny... especially the part about how the rocks could fall at any time. :)

Colorado is SO beautiful!

I can't believe how big this shirt makes my belly look!

Look, I match the curve in the rocks :)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 40 weeks

Size of Baby : averages say ~20-21" and 7-7.5 lbs... the same avg #'s for babies at birth, since we're at that point now

Total Weight Gain : ~31 lbs... that may have something to do with the treats I've been sneaking despite my reflux b/c I just can't hold out any longer :)

Maternity Clothes :  Now that I'm not working and not NECESSARILY getting my clothes dirty every time I wear them (I'm still pretty clumsy tho), I'm wearing pretty much just two or three of my most comfy pairs of pants over and over again.  Nothing seems to want to stay up since my belly is SO round and pushing them down all the time.  My leggings are my most comfy but I only have maybe 2 tops that will cover my belly AND butt and I feel exposed if those two aren't completely covered.  But I spend all my evenings in my pj's, so comfort isn't often an issue :)

Best Moment This Week :  having Jennifer here was such a blast!!  We had a perfect balance of out & about time and couch time.  Two trips to Garden of the Gods and some good walking.  Two chick flicks - The Help and Crazy, Stupid, Love.  It was a short trip (really just 3 days) but really fun.  And I was pleased to have enough energy to keep up, even at 9 mos pregnant.

Gender : boy

Movement : still his usual, though I'd like him to start moving DOWN! :)  Honestly, I'm not surprised he's in no hurry... I was always a little late in making big life changes; why shouldn't my baby be the same way. :-D  I just keep encouraging him that he's going to love all the room he has to move out here!! :)

Food Craving : well, I did a stupid thing and went and bought mint oreos... which I've been snacking on consistently despite the reflux issues they can cause.  On the upside, I also bought blueberries (BOGO, even for organic!) and have been enjoying them with cereal or bananas or on their own.

What I Miss Most : same old - my pre-preg body.  I can't wait to be able to sleep on my stomach or move like I'm not a beached whale!!!

Sleep : I haven't been getting enough of it between company in town (aka staying up too late) and waking up so often.  I count myself lucky if I can make it 3 hrs straight w/o waking at any point in the night.  Now that I'm not working I can sleep in after Josh goes to work, but that doesn't seem to be making much of a difference in how rested I feel.

What I Am Looking Forward To : meeting this little joker!  I can't wait to HOLD him!  And at this point I can almost guarantee for certain that I'll be seeing him in 2 wks or less, and that's SO exciting!  (Less is better, buddy!!)  I also have an appt tomorrow, and I'm interested to lay out a plan for the next couple weeks... since I like to have ducks in a row and I can't do anything with my L&D ducks, at least I can know where my dr's ducks are :-D

Belly Button : outtie

Symptoms : all the same old ones.  Contractions continue to grow in intensity and frequency, but still nothing worth tracking.  I had one REALLY strong on the other day - stopped me in my tracks completely and hurt for real... but it was just ONE and one doesn't mean anything.  I can't wait to actually go into labor b/c that means we're getting somewhere more quickly.  I'm trying to be patient, and be grateful that I really do feel pretty good considering I'm 40 wks pregnant now, but I just can't wait to have this kid!! :)  So honestly, the biggest symptom I have now is impatience :-D  haha