One Month!

Two days ago my baby boy turned one month old!  We've been busy over Easter weekend, so I didn't have a chance to do a one month post until now.  Here's JJ, on his one month birthday!

He has an Easter outfit on, because we celebrated Easter with my family on Saturday!

So at one month, my little man has pretty much outgrown all his newborn clothes.  I can squeeze him into a few things, but he's basically moved completely into his 0-3 month wardrobe!  He's also long outgrown newborn diapers.  Size 1 fits him perfectly...but probably not for long!  He goes through tons of diapers, he's always wet and lots of times poopy!  I've only been sprayed a couple times...and I don't think John has been at all!

By his one month birthday, JJ had rolled over twice from his belly to his back!  He enjoys tummy time, when he's in a good mood, but apparently he enjoys rolling more!  It never fails though, as soon as he gets himself rolled onto his back, he starts screaming.  Not his favorite place to be, I guess!  He's doing well holding his head up and he seems to have more control every day!  He follows things with his eyes, no problem.  One day I was pacing around our bedroom on the phone, and he just watched me go from one side of the room to the other, over and over!

JJ has started smiling a lot!  He coos and makes lots of cute noises.  He loves to talk to us, and he loves to be facing us.  I love watching his eyes light up as we talk to him and he talks back.  Sometimes he's a little fussy in the evenings, but not always.  He really dislikes tubby time, I'm hoping that changes eventually!!  He also screams almost every time we change him!

He continues to be an excellent sleeper.  He'll always give me a 5-7 hour stretch when I first lay him down at night.  After that, it can be anywhere from 2.5-4 hours.  I'm trying to make sure he gets a good nap during the day too.  It doesn't always work...but today it is!  He's been asleep for about an hour and I've managed to get some laundry and dishes done!  I think his fussy evenings come when he doesn't get some good sleep in during the day.

JJ is a great eater as well.  He's had breast milk and formula out of a bottle, and does well with both!  I'll be leaving him at my parent's Thursday morning so I can get a haircut.  I've only left him with John so far, and only for about 30 minutes at a time...so this will be a first!  But I know he'll do well, and Olivia will love playing with him.  And I really need a haircut!!

John and I are doing well.  I'm loving being home with JJ.  I do miss all my friends at work, but there is nothing better than taking care of my baby.  I keep pretty busy visiting my sister or parents, or just going to the store for awhile.  John has been working lots of overtime the past couple weeks, so that's hard on him.  He misses JJ!  But he's such a good provider for us.  Even on his days off he's busy at the firehouse and with other commitments...but he loves to just sit and snuggle with his little boy.

We count ourselves truly blessed to have been entrusted with this sweet baby boy.  It is definitely not something that I take for granted.  There are times that I just sit and hold him, not able to pull my eyes away from his adorable face.  Looking at him often makes me wonder...what would my other babies have looked like?  I wonder if they would look similar, or not alike at all?  It's amazing how healing it has been to hold, love and take care of this amazing blessing.  I thank God for him everyday!

Happy Easter

It's not about the eggs.

It's not about the bunny.

It's not about the new clothes.

It's not about the baskets.

It's not about the sunshine.

It's not about the food.

It's not about going to church.

It's not about chocolate.

It's about Jesus, taking my sins upon Himself.

It's about Jesus, living His Father's plan.

It's about Jesus, dying a painful death on the cross.

It's about Jesus, rising from the dead.

It's about Jesus, giving the ultimate sacrifice so that I may live.

Happy Resurrection Day. 

May the power of the cross be more real to you now that it's ever been.

Quick update

Wow, no time to blog!  :)

When JJ does take a nap during the day...which is random, and when it does happen, short...I take advantage of the time by doing laundry, washing dishes or taking a little snooze myself.

But right now he's snoozing in his (vibrating) bouncy seat, and even though I should go wash the dishes, I feel like sitting instead.  So a quick update!

JJ is doing really well.  He almost always gives me at least a 5-hour stretch between feedings at night.  A couple times he went 7 hours, hoping that picks back up again!  The awesome thing is after he eats in the middle of the night, I can burp him and put him right back in his bassinet with no problem.  I hope that keeps up!  He eats every 2 hours during the day.  A little limiting as to what I can do, where I can go, but he's so worth it.  :)  Yesterday Daddy got to give him a bottle and he did really well with it!

During the day JJ likes to stay awake.  He has developed his fussy time in the evenings.  Sometimes we can calm him down, sometimes we can't.  But I don't really mind so much, because he does so well at night.  He's a pooping and peeing machine!

Sometimes he likes his swing and bouncy seat, sometimes he doesn't.  Sometimes he's content to lay on his boppy, sometimes he's not.  He can almost always be calmed by being held and talked to.  He loves to make noises (John thinks he's trying to say Dada!) and just stare at us.  He hates having his diaper changed and is not a fan of tubby time.

JJ does love riding in the car...as long as we don't stop for too long!  He also really likes going for walks.  John thinks he loves when Zoe licks him...I just think he tolerates it.

He's definiely getting bigger, and is already out-growing some clothes!  Time is flying, as I knew it would, and we love him more everyday!

More later, the munchkin is awake!

It didn't work.

I tried it.

But it didn't work.



And it tasted yucky.

7 hours

I wouldn't go so far as to say that we have a schedule.  Basically, I feed JJ every 2 hours during the day.  Sometimes I have to wake him up, which just feels wrong, but I do it anyway.

A little disclaimer here: I am not a newborn expert at all.  I know how to care for a baby just fine, but coming home from the hospital I didn't have any kind of 'plan' for feeding, sleeping, etc.  We were just gonna kind of go with the flow.

So...every 2 hours.  During the day.  With the hope that he'd have a longer stretch at night.

Now, this most likely has nothing to do with me, and is just the way my little man is wired, but he's given me 2 nights in a row with 7 (yes, 7) hours between feedings.  I feed him for the last time at 10pm, and he's been waking me up at about 4:45.  That is almost 7 hours.  Which means, if I go to sleep as soon as he's done eating, around 10:30 or 10:45, I get 6 solid hours of sleep.  That is not something I thought would be happening for a long time still.  But I'm enjoying it!

I'm also trying not to expect it, because I'm assuming he won't keep this up.  It's just too good to be true.  But I'll enjoy it while it lasts.  :)

...and the leg...

I will admit, my hospital stay after child birth was not at all what I expected.  Just to be clear, I loved the hospital, loved all the nurses, and the food was fantastic!  BUT...I had this issue.  Still have, in fact.

My left leg is numb.  When the nurse went to help me out of bed (probably around 9am, and I'd had him at 1:15) I hit the floor.  Literally.  My leg just crumpled underneath me.  Poor nurse, felt so bad.  I didn't hit the floor too hard, so I was ok.  We're considering a lawsuit.  (Haha...just kidding.)

From that point on, I was basically a prisoner of my bed.  The only times I got up were to use the bathroom, and I had to call a nurse, then let her know I needed 2 people to help me.  I used to be quite the modest person.  That kind of went out the window in the hospital!

I couldn't get up to get my baby out of his crib.  I couldn't get up to put him back in his crib.  I couldn't walk to my bag to get deodorant, socks or a snack.  I couldn't even stand to help change my baby's diaper.  In the words of one of my (wonderful) nurses, I was a hot mess.

So by Thursday, they brought me a walker.  This meant only one nurse had to assist me.  It was still difficult, and they didn't want me getting out of bed by myself, but it made me feel a little better.  The first time I used the walker, I got myself settled back in bed.  John was laying on the other bed with JJ.  The nurse, after assisting me, left the room.  And I broke down.

I cried because I felt helpless.  I cried because this was not the way I envisioned my post-delivery hospital stay.  I cried because looking at that walker made me feel sad.  I cried because I couldn't take care of my baby.

Here I was, facing going home in 24 hours, and I couldn't even carry my baby from the crib to the changing table.  On top of that, I didn't even know what was wrong with my leg.  None of the nurses had ever seen anything like it.  Not the most reassuring thing to hear over and over.

Thursday night I was evaluated by a neurologist and he pretty much diagnosed me with a stretched femoral nerve.  Most likely caused by the 2 hours of pushing.  He said it could be days, it could be weeks, it could be months, but it should get better.  I will admit, that made me feel better!

So Friday morning I decided I was going to do it all myself, with the walker.  I knew I was going home, and I knew I needed to at least be able to take care of myself, even if I couldn't completely care for JJ yet.  I got more comfortable with the walker, and I came home with my very own walker.  Yippee.

Once we'd been home for a little while (and I'd had a shower!) John headed to the drug store for me.  While there, he called asking if I wanted a cane.  I decided yes, that would probably come in very handy, especially in small spaces like the bathroom.  So that afternoon (Friday) I started just using the cane.

John had to work 12 hours on Saturday.  Fortunately my parents dropped everything they were supposed to be doing and came to help me out.  By late morning I was hobbling around the house with no cane, just keeping my leg locked when I walked.  I even carried JJ (for the first time!) from his room out to the living room.  Best feeling in the world!!

I was feeling so good about my progress that when the physical therapist called to set up an in-home appointment I said I didn't need her.  In hindsight, probably a mistake.  But for now that's where we are. 

When my leg is too bent, it will not support me at all.  So I just have to be very conscious of how I'm walking, especially when carrying JJ.  Some days I feel like it's getting better.  Some days I feel like recovery has kind of stalled.  I'm taking it day by day and hoping soon this will all be a distant, not-so-fond memory.  I'm definitely asking for prayer that this leg heals quickly!

One more push!

JJ's Birth Story - Part 3

So there I was.  I had been assured by my sister and sister-in-law that the pushing was no big deal.  Hindsight sure is 20/20...I think they lied to me about a lot of stuff!!  :)  But it sure did help me feel better about what was to come, so I am thankful to them for that. 

I was laying there in my hospital bed, surrounded by my family, when I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick.  I quietly said, "I think I'm going to throw up."  No one heard me.  Again I said, "I think I'm going to be sick!"  Still, they were all caught up in their own conversations.  The third time I tried to be as loud as possible, "I think I'm going to throw up!"  I think my Dad was the first one to hear me.  Someone produced a large bucket that had a hole in one corner.  Everyone left the room quickly, apparently not wanting to see me puke.  I did throw up, and I had to tilt the bucket so that it wouldn't go out the hole!  I believe that was the last time my family was in the room.

Then it was just John and I.  The nurse asked if I wanted to do some practice pushes, since I was feeling pressure.  My answer?  "I don't know."  I really was unsure and scared of the pushing part.  Plus I was feeling my contractions so much again, I was afraid of what else I would feel while pushing out my huge baby!

But she convinced me to start trying to push, and for the next 2 hours, that's all I did.  I pushed with almost every contraction, and had oxygen in between.  John would help hold my leg, then give me the oxygen mask after each push.  When another contraction came, I would push off the mask and prepare for more pushing.  I felt like I couldn't breathe.  I felt like acid reflux was worse than ever.  I threw up again.  I can't believe I did that for 2 hours.  There were several times when I thought I just couldn't do it anymore.  I remember saying, "I'm tired!" over and over again. 

At one point, somewhere near the end, the nurse started saying, "Just one more push!"  Now let me just say here, my nurse, midwife and husband were incredible through the whole delivery.  With each push they told me what a good job I was doing.  They were all so encouraging, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without them!  But this nurse must have said, "Just one more push!" at least a dozen times!  And silly me, I believed her each time. 

I got to feel JJ's hairy head...that was so weird!  But finally it was one more push, and he was here!  The cord was wrapped around his neck and his left hand was up by his face...apparently part of the reason why I had to push for so long.  She laid him right up on my stomach, and I remember expecting that I would cry...but I didn't!  I think I was just so tired and happy.  I rubbed my hands all over his slimy little body, and I remember my midwife saying, "That's definitely not a 10 pound baby!" 

The nurse took him to clean him up and get him a little responsive.  He was just a little sluggish and didn't cry right off the bat.  His apgars were 8, then 9.  He had his footprints done, got a Hepatitis (B?) shot and he pooped and peed.  John took pictures.  I got stitched up.

When he was about to be weighed I remember saying something about placing bets about how heavy he would be.  My guess was 9 lbs. 3 oz.  I was only an ounce off! 

My beautiful 9 lb. 2 oz. boy was then delivered to my arms, with a full head of dark hair!  When the nurse gave him to me I thought he was heavy!  He definitely wasn't a small bundle...but I was so in love already.

..first time in Mommy's arms..