Christmas day was a lot of fun this year with just the three of us. As much as I wanted to see our families; I'm glad it was low key, especially since we were up really late the night before. I had to sleep in until after 9:00 because I was so exhausted from the day and night before. Stephen was up a few hours before me and wanted to open his stocking while I slept a little longer, but I told him he had to wait. I felt bad after I got up that I told him to wait because he was so excited, and then I had to ruin it all. Sorry babe. Next year you can open your stocking as soon as you get up.
We started a tradition of writing clues on all our gifts so we have to make a guess as to what is inside before opening it. We don't really keep score, but its really fun to see how close we are. Because of this tradition it takes a little longer to open all our presents. We all spoiled each other and had a great time.
We went out to a movie that afternoon just to get out of the house. I fed Zander before so he would, hopefully, last the whole movie, but he started to fuss at the best part of the movie so I had to take him out and feed him again. I didn't mind, but the annoying thing about it all was that I missed the last 45 minutes of the movie and that whole time I was trying to wake Zander up to feed him. Evidently he was still in a deep sleep. I thought about going back in to watch the rest of it, but I didn't want to walk in and then have him hollering again so I just stayed out in the hallway holding him. When I took him out of his car seat he was just drenched in sweat. I mean even his blanket was wet. The poor boy! It was probably a good thing I took him out of the movie otherwise I wouldn't have noticed how incredibly hot he was. It's a good thing I didn't bring his coat this time.
Anyway, we had a great Christmas. It was fun to have Zander join our family because we love him dearly.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Lately
I don't have too much to report this week. It's kind of been a difficult one because Zander has been really fussy lately and wouldn't sleep for more than 20-30 minutes at a time during the day, which means I don't get to take a nap, plus he's been wanting to eat every hour and a half. I couldn't figure out what the problem was so, of course, I went to the internet to see if I could find out what the problem was. I looked up colic and the symptoms, and he had every one of them. Zander doesn't burp very well for me and he has lots of gas, so I've been trying to make sure he burps no matter what after I feed him. He seemed to be doing a little better with the passing days.
Then, Mom and Dad came for a visit on Thursday. I was so excited to see them both and spend some time with them especially so they could see Zander. We had a nice visit with them and they took us out to dinner before they turned in for the night. It's too bad it was only for a day, but I'll take anything I can get! I can't wait to go for a visit in Twin in another month or two. Anyway, Mom and Dad called me the next morning on their way home and expressed their concerns that they didn't think Zander was getting enough to eat. I had that suspicion for the past two weeks, so it was kind of a relief to hear someone else see it too. So ever since Friday I had this sinking realization that I wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy the little guy. I had some extra milk stored in the fridge so I tried feeding it to him and he gulped it down. Suspicion confirmed. It all made sense now, and he's been sleeping a lot better and not so fussy. I didn't have a lot of milk stored, so after it was gone I was forced to supplement with formula.
Yesterday Zander blew through every outfit we put him in. I have never seen so much poop come out of one tiny little bum! I just can't get over how tiny he is. He's already a month old and he hasn't hardly gained any weight. I weighed him myself on our bathroom scale last Friday. I (unfortunately) had to weigh myself and then pick up Zander to find out his weight. He was at 7.6 which is pretty good, but not where he should be. Then I decided to weigh him again on Sunday. My weight hadn't changed, but then I picked up the Peanut and he was at 8.3 pounds which is kind of significant from two days prior, so I don't know if my scale is at all accurate. I can kind of see his face filling out a tiny bit in his double chin and cheeks. I just can't get enough of this little boy! It's been so much fun seeing Stephen interact with Zander while he changes him and rocks him to sleep. I am so grateful for this wonderful husband of mine. I love to rock Zander to sleep because he is starting to smile more as he falls asleep, then the other day I heard him giggle in his sleep; it was so fun!
Adam and Lynnette came for a short visit yesterday. They were headed to Texas for Christmas so they asked if they could stash their truck at our house while they were gone. I'm hoping they stay the night when they get back next week; I love spending time them. I got to show them our house and we talked about all the projects we had done to it. We talked about kids and family and all sorts of stuff. I was excited that they could finally come and visit us.
Another interesting thing that Mom brought up while she was here was that she had never seen a baby wrinkle their forehead like Zander does. He has his eyebrows raised every time his eyes are open. I never though anything of it until she mentioned it. She thought maybe he had been doing that in utero because he already has permanent lines across his forehead.
Then, Mom and Dad came for a visit on Thursday. I was so excited to see them both and spend some time with them especially so they could see Zander. We had a nice visit with them and they took us out to dinner before they turned in for the night. It's too bad it was only for a day, but I'll take anything I can get! I can't wait to go for a visit in Twin in another month or two. Anyway, Mom and Dad called me the next morning on their way home and expressed their concerns that they didn't think Zander was getting enough to eat. I had that suspicion for the past two weeks, so it was kind of a relief to hear someone else see it too. So ever since Friday I had this sinking realization that I wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy the little guy. I had some extra milk stored in the fridge so I tried feeding it to him and he gulped it down. Suspicion confirmed. It all made sense now, and he's been sleeping a lot better and not so fussy. I didn't have a lot of milk stored, so after it was gone I was forced to supplement with formula.
Yesterday Zander blew through every outfit we put him in. I have never seen so much poop come out of one tiny little bum! I just can't get over how tiny he is. He's already a month old and he hasn't hardly gained any weight. I weighed him myself on our bathroom scale last Friday. I (unfortunately) had to weigh myself and then pick up Zander to find out his weight. He was at 7.6 which is pretty good, but not where he should be. Then I decided to weigh him again on Sunday. My weight hadn't changed, but then I picked up the Peanut and he was at 8.3 pounds which is kind of significant from two days prior, so I don't know if my scale is at all accurate. I can kind of see his face filling out a tiny bit in his double chin and cheeks. I just can't get enough of this little boy! It's been so much fun seeing Stephen interact with Zander while he changes him and rocks him to sleep. I am so grateful for this wonderful husband of mine. I love to rock Zander to sleep because he is starting to smile more as he falls asleep, then the other day I heard him giggle in his sleep; it was so fun!
Adam and Lynnette came for a short visit yesterday. They were headed to Texas for Christmas so they asked if they could stash their truck at our house while they were gone. I'm hoping they stay the night when they get back next week; I love spending time them. I got to show them our house and we talked about all the projects we had done to it. We talked about kids and family and all sorts of stuff. I was excited that they could finally come and visit us.
Another interesting thing that Mom brought up while she was here was that she had never seen a baby wrinkle their forehead like Zander does. He has his eyebrows raised every time his eyes are open. I never though anything of it until she mentioned it. She thought maybe he had been doing that in utero because he already has permanent lines across his forehead.
I liked this picture with his fingers interlocked while he was sleeping
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Bath Time!
First time in the water. Zander didn't mind it at first, but as Stephen continued to wash him he wasn't having it....
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as you can tell in this photo, lol. Stephen said Zander definitely has my facial expressions
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Squeaky clean!
Friday, December 13, 2013
Recovering
Just a little update, Zander gained three ounces since his last check-up. What a relief! During those five days from the first to second doctor appointments I was worried Zander might not being getting enough to eat because I thought I was losing my milk. I talked to another lactation specialist about Zander's eating habits and how he will nurse from 30 to 45 minutes to sometimes an hour at a time. I told her it was exhausting especially during the night when I'd feed him for 45 minutes then take another 30-45 minutes changing him and rocking him back to sleep. I'd be up for almost two hours taking care of him each time and start it all over again in another hour. I was feeling really frustrated and annoyed at my baby and that's not right. It made me feel guilty and sad and I concluded that I'd just have to live like that for the next year.
The lactation specialist told me that was the whole reason he hadn't been gaining weight very quickly, and I was confused because I thought he was getting more milk that way plus, he didn't want to come off. She said Zander is what they call a grazer--he eats at a slower pace taking his time and a quick nap or two in the middle of the feeding until he was completely zonked out. He wasn't storing up his calories all at once like he should be doing within a 10-15 minutes feeding session. So I was instructed to only keep him on for no more than 15 minutes on each side and if he starts to nod off I'd have to wake him up to finish eating and be done. I couldn't believe my ears, I was so relieved to hear I only needed to nurse for 15 minutes! That way I can get to bed within an hour and get more sleep. Once he starts gaining more weight and getting older I can go down from 10 minutes to 5 minutes and he'll stay asleep longer during the night. I was so happy when I left the office and finally find out why he wasn't gaining weight, that it didn't have to spend the whole night nursing, but more importantly, that I wasn't losing my milk.
Zander has also got himself a really bad case of baby acne. It's all over his face, even in his eyelids! It's up on his head in his hair line, and down his neck, my poor little peanut. I wish I could do something to help him, but I have to just let it run its course. I've never seen any baby with such bad acne before.
My recovery has been going really well. I have, I don't know how many stitches, but I've been able to move around and walk around since two hours after delivery. Sitting down and getting back up were the hardest things to do, but it's getting much better and I almost feel like my old self again. One weird thing though, since my delivery my whole body is super stiff and aches really bad when I have to get up at night to nurse. I have to take a minute or two to really wake up and move my limbs around to even be able to sit up. Even my fingers won't bend all the way after waking up. A few days ago I realized that I no longer move around and change positions in my sleep. I sleep like a dead person, haha! I thought maybe that's why I was so stiff, but I don't know. Anyone know if that's normal or not? Anyway, other than that and my sore abs and stomach muscles I feel great. I can't wait to be able to move and do some exercise. It's too bad it's winter though because who likes to exercise when it's cold and dreary outside? Not me. Not to mention how cold it is in my house! I just want to snuggle up with my peanut and watch Christmas movies all day.
One thing I do need to do though, is work on my eating habits. I've never had good eating habits. Ever. I eat healthy, but I don't eat a lot. I know I'm supposed to be eating more calories during pregnancy and while nursing, but I don't ever think about eating unless it's dinner because I have to make it. I eat a small meal for breakfast--usually a bowl of cereal or smoothie, and a lot of times I don't eat lunch. Sometimes I'll snack on something here and there, but I just don't eat a lot. Maybe that's why Zander is so skinny? I gained quite a bit during my pregnancy, like a little more than I should have (how I did that is beyond me), but finding the time and energy to make myself lunch usually doesn't happen unless we have left overs in the fridge. Sometime Stephen has to force me to eat when he gets home too. So I have to be super vigilant at stocking my fridge with healthy snacks and left overs so I really don't lose my milk.
The lactation specialist told me that was the whole reason he hadn't been gaining weight very quickly, and I was confused because I thought he was getting more milk that way plus, he didn't want to come off. She said Zander is what they call a grazer--he eats at a slower pace taking his time and a quick nap or two in the middle of the feeding until he was completely zonked out. He wasn't storing up his calories all at once like he should be doing within a 10-15 minutes feeding session. So I was instructed to only keep him on for no more than 15 minutes on each side and if he starts to nod off I'd have to wake him up to finish eating and be done. I couldn't believe my ears, I was so relieved to hear I only needed to nurse for 15 minutes! That way I can get to bed within an hour and get more sleep. Once he starts gaining more weight and getting older I can go down from 10 minutes to 5 minutes and he'll stay asleep longer during the night. I was so happy when I left the office and finally find out why he wasn't gaining weight, that it didn't have to spend the whole night nursing, but more importantly, that I wasn't losing my milk.
Zander has also got himself a really bad case of baby acne. It's all over his face, even in his eyelids! It's up on his head in his hair line, and down his neck, my poor little peanut. I wish I could do something to help him, but I have to just let it run its course. I've never seen any baby with such bad acne before.
My recovery has been going really well. I have, I don't know how many stitches, but I've been able to move around and walk around since two hours after delivery. Sitting down and getting back up were the hardest things to do, but it's getting much better and I almost feel like my old self again. One weird thing though, since my delivery my whole body is super stiff and aches really bad when I have to get up at night to nurse. I have to take a minute or two to really wake up and move my limbs around to even be able to sit up. Even my fingers won't bend all the way after waking up. A few days ago I realized that I no longer move around and change positions in my sleep. I sleep like a dead person, haha! I thought maybe that's why I was so stiff, but I don't know. Anyone know if that's normal or not? Anyway, other than that and my sore abs and stomach muscles I feel great. I can't wait to be able to move and do some exercise. It's too bad it's winter though because who likes to exercise when it's cold and dreary outside? Not me. Not to mention how cold it is in my house! I just want to snuggle up with my peanut and watch Christmas movies all day.
One thing I do need to do though, is work on my eating habits. I've never had good eating habits. Ever. I eat healthy, but I don't eat a lot. I know I'm supposed to be eating more calories during pregnancy and while nursing, but I don't ever think about eating unless it's dinner because I have to make it. I eat a small meal for breakfast--usually a bowl of cereal or smoothie, and a lot of times I don't eat lunch. Sometimes I'll snack on something here and there, but I just don't eat a lot. Maybe that's why Zander is so skinny? I gained quite a bit during my pregnancy, like a little more than I should have (how I did that is beyond me), but finding the time and energy to make myself lunch usually doesn't happen unless we have left overs in the fridge. Sometime Stephen has to force me to eat when he gets home too. So I have to be super vigilant at stocking my fridge with healthy snacks and left overs so I really don't lose my milk.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Two Week Check-Up
Zander had his two week check up yesterday. I had a ton of questions , but mostly I wanted to know what his weight was because trying to get used to the whole breast feeding thing has been a challenge, so I wasn't sure if he'd gained or lost anything. Turns out he only lost an ounce which is pretty good and his head circumference is a little bigger. I don't know the exact measurements, but anyway I have to take him back in this next week for another weigh in. He's supposed have gained at least two ounces, so we'll see how well we do. I love my pediatrician! She and her nurse are so talkative and friendly.
On another note, after two weeks of being a mom I can honestly say that I love my job! I can't believe its only been two weeks and I had the thought today while I was looking at some of my pregnancy photos, that I already want another baby. If you asked me two weeks ago if I would ever have another one I'd have said no without hesitation, but Zander has been such a joy to take care of....so far. I know that "just you wait" is at the tip of everyone's tongue, but seriously, I want another one.
He slept for seven hours last night! He's been really good at sleeping for several hours throughout the night. He makes some of the funniest faces when we are up at night, and I love the little half smiles I get as he drifts off to sleep. He's getting really good at holding his head up on his own, and holds in and takes out his pacifier all by himself. He gets the hiccups a lot which is no surprise because he had them several times a day in the womb.
I now know why and how moms become ambidextrous and professional multi-taskers, it is hard work with even just one baby, how moms do it with multiple small children is beyond me, but I'm sure it all comes with a lot of practice and patients.
On another note, after two weeks of being a mom I can honestly say that I love my job! I can't believe its only been two weeks and I had the thought today while I was looking at some of my pregnancy photos, that I already want another baby. If you asked me two weeks ago if I would ever have another one I'd have said no without hesitation, but Zander has been such a joy to take care of....so far. I know that "just you wait" is at the tip of everyone's tongue, but seriously, I want another one.
He slept for seven hours last night! He's been really good at sleeping for several hours throughout the night. He makes some of the funniest faces when we are up at night, and I love the little half smiles I get as he drifts off to sleep. He's getting really good at holding his head up on his own, and holds in and takes out his pacifier all by himself. He gets the hiccups a lot which is no surprise because he had them several times a day in the womb.
I now know why and how moms become ambidextrous and professional multi-taskers, it is hard work with even just one baby, how moms do it with multiple small children is beyond me, but I'm sure it all comes with a lot of practice and patients.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Post Delivery
Now that we've been home for a week having to care for an infant isn't as scary as I had imagined. It's worth it to have to get up in the middle of the night to feed him when I look down at him in his crib. He is such a sweet little thing. I'm so blessed to be his mommy! The first night home was a little tough not really knowing what to do and having my milk come in. That was the worst part because I was so engorged I could hardly stand it. Zander wouldn't eat from one side for several days, so I had to pump and that hurt even worse. I tried and tried at every feeding to get him to latch on and it finally worked one night. So no more pumping for me! The good thing is I have a little extra milk stored up in the freezer now just in case.
He is such a good eater and sleeper now. He will go for four to five hour stretches of sleep at a time and it's usually at night, so I can get some much needed rest. Stephen, what would I do without my sweet husband? He has been so good at taking care of the both of us while he's been home from work. He makes sure I take naps and gets me food, he fills up my water jug for me and makes sure I'm taking my pills. He ran errands all day the first two days home to get things for me and Zander that we didn't have. Mom came to help out last saturday while we were still in the hospital. She stayed with us Sunday night when we got home through Wednesday. I'm am SO glad she could come to see Zander and help us out. She stocked my bare refrigerator and pantry with groceries, vacuumed and cleaned my house, and gave me advise. I love her so much.
We had our first thanksgiving as a family this year just three of us. Stephen made an awesome dinner and we were able to pick up a honey baked turkey breast from Honey Baked Ham thanks to Miriam. She gets a $50 gift card to Honey Baked Ham every year and she doesn't eat meat, so she gave it to us this year knowing we wouldn't be able to leave our house. Zander's umbilical cord already fell off at five days old. I was shocked because I thought it was supposed to take at least a week or two.
He is such a good eater and sleeper now. He will go for four to five hour stretches of sleep at a time and it's usually at night, so I can get some much needed rest. Stephen, what would I do without my sweet husband? He has been so good at taking care of the both of us while he's been home from work. He makes sure I take naps and gets me food, he fills up my water jug for me and makes sure I'm taking my pills. He ran errands all day the first two days home to get things for me and Zander that we didn't have. Mom came to help out last saturday while we were still in the hospital. She stayed with us Sunday night when we got home through Wednesday. I'm am SO glad she could come to see Zander and help us out. She stocked my bare refrigerator and pantry with groceries, vacuumed and cleaned my house, and gave me advise. I love her so much.
We had our first thanksgiving as a family this year just three of us. Stephen made an awesome dinner and we were able to pick up a honey baked turkey breast from Honey Baked Ham thanks to Miriam. She gets a $50 gift card to Honey Baked Ham every year and she doesn't eat meat, so she gave it to us this year knowing we wouldn't be able to leave our house. Zander's umbilical cord already fell off at five days old. I was shocked because I thought it was supposed to take at least a week or two.
Coming home! I put Stephen in charge of picking out Zander's coming home outfit. Of course he had to make it all Broncos themed. There was a big game on that night.
Grandma Pettingill
Stephen making Thanksgiving dinner
Boy are we ever grateful this year!
Six days old
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Zander's Birth Story
Two weeks before Zander was born my midwife left town so I didn't have an appointment that week. I had to decide whether or not I wanted to get my membranes stripped before she got back. It wasn't a huge decision, but I wanted everything to be as natural as possible, but at the same time I wanted to have this baby the next week-- and possibly on the same day Becky's Cora was born. That following Monday at my appointment I made the decision to get swept mainly because I was done being pregnant and didn't want to go past my due date.
That Monday night I started having contractions. They weren't too bad at first,but uncomfortable enough to wake me up during each one. I continued to have contractions for the next four days! I labored with Zander for five days until I couldn't take it anymore. All day Tuesday the contractions kept coming and even more so that night. I kept track of them so I would know if and when I needed to call my midwife and head to the hospital. They were five minutes apart for four and a half hours that night, but started to slow down by 3:30 am. I stayed up until 6:00 that morning and they still continued throughout the day and into Wednesday.
These contractions were nothing like I was expecting. I had A LOT of back labor which made them even worse. I practiced my breathing while I laid on my back or got on my hands and knees and rocked back and forth until they passed. Every contraction lasted right around a minute, but several times throughout I'd have one that would last for two minutes. I called mom because I was in pain, but it felt like nothing was happening, so I became anxious and SO frustrated that all I could do was cry. Mom made me feel better, as always, as best she could. Thursday afternoon the contractions started to get super intense, so I decided to bake some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to try and take my mind off things....it didn't work. It was a good thing Stephen came home because I had to have him finish baking them so I could go lay down. We went to bed that night, but I got zero sleep. The contractions got worse, even so that I had to pee during every one of them so I kept having to get up and go to the bathroom about every other one. I kept telling Stephen that I had to get an epidural because I couldn't take the pain anymore.
Friday morning arrived after another sleepless night and they were as strong as ever. I had Stephen call Julie, my midwife, to see if I could go to the hospital and tell her I needed an epidural. Julie wasn't on call so he talked to the other midwife who told him we needed to get to the hospital right away. I couldn't get there fast enough. I thought I was going to die and the baby would come before we reached the hospital, but we made it and lucky for me I was already dilated to a seven so I decided to stick with my original plan and deliver unmedicated.
I got into the labor and delivery room and immediately got in the bathtub. Ahhhh, it felt so good to soak in the warm water. I was in there for about an hour before I had to get out and get checked again. I was at a nine plus. Almost there! Julie arrived to see if I wanted my water broken, but she had another patient who was also ready to push, so she left me for an agonizing hour to deliver the other baby. She finally got back and broke my water. I was so sleep deprived I felt a little delirious as to what was going on. I certainly didn't have the strength I needed to push this baby out. The pushing was the hardest part. I had no idea what I was in for. The worst contractions came after my water broke and then it was time to push. I didn't know how to push and Julie was trying to tell me what to do but I was confused at first and in too much pain to fully understand what she wanted from me. I only pushed for 10 minutes which felt like forever. The head came first and Stephen and the nurses were all cheering me on. I still had the shoulders and I pushed and pushed all while screaming and yelling. I was almost there. I pushed what I thought would be my last, but he was still in there! I was so confused, so I yelled at Julie to GET HIM OUT! And one more push he was lying on my chest. I couldn't believe it. I did it! All the nurses told me how brave and strong I was for going natural, and how impressed they were with how calm I was during my contractions.
Stephen cut the cord as I stared at my little boy and cried. Stephen was a great support and helped me as best he could to endure the pain. He was very hands on, and surprisingly the only thing that he struggled with was watching them put the IV in my arm. After the placenta was delivered Julie kept pushing on my stomach/uterus as blood gushed out all over the floor. More and more came out until Julie had to either give me pitocen or a blood transfusion because I wouldn't stop bleeding. My uterus stopped contracting to stop the blood flow. After that I found out that I did tear quite a bit--I had a third degree tear which took about an hour to stitch up. I was beyond exhausted. I couldn't stay awake, but the nurses kept coming by every so often to push on my uterus to empty out the blood, and that hurt. I went into recovery to finally get some sleep.
I took full advantage of my 48 hour stay at the hospital as did Stephen--he stayed the night with me both nights even though we wouldn't get too much sleep. I was recovering quite nicely.
That Monday night I started having contractions. They weren't too bad at first,but uncomfortable enough to wake me up during each one. I continued to have contractions for the next four days! I labored with Zander for five days until I couldn't take it anymore. All day Tuesday the contractions kept coming and even more so that night. I kept track of them so I would know if and when I needed to call my midwife and head to the hospital. They were five minutes apart for four and a half hours that night, but started to slow down by 3:30 am. I stayed up until 6:00 that morning and they still continued throughout the day and into Wednesday.
These contractions were nothing like I was expecting. I had A LOT of back labor which made them even worse. I practiced my breathing while I laid on my back or got on my hands and knees and rocked back and forth until they passed. Every contraction lasted right around a minute, but several times throughout I'd have one that would last for two minutes. I called mom because I was in pain, but it felt like nothing was happening, so I became anxious and SO frustrated that all I could do was cry. Mom made me feel better, as always, as best she could. Thursday afternoon the contractions started to get super intense, so I decided to bake some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to try and take my mind off things....it didn't work. It was a good thing Stephen came home because I had to have him finish baking them so I could go lay down. We went to bed that night, but I got zero sleep. The contractions got worse, even so that I had to pee during every one of them so I kept having to get up and go to the bathroom about every other one. I kept telling Stephen that I had to get an epidural because I couldn't take the pain anymore.
Friday morning arrived after another sleepless night and they were as strong as ever. I had Stephen call Julie, my midwife, to see if I could go to the hospital and tell her I needed an epidural. Julie wasn't on call so he talked to the other midwife who told him we needed to get to the hospital right away. I couldn't get there fast enough. I thought I was going to die and the baby would come before we reached the hospital, but we made it and lucky for me I was already dilated to a seven so I decided to stick with my original plan and deliver unmedicated.
I got into the labor and delivery room and immediately got in the bathtub. Ahhhh, it felt so good to soak in the warm water. I was in there for about an hour before I had to get out and get checked again. I was at a nine plus. Almost there! Julie arrived to see if I wanted my water broken, but she had another patient who was also ready to push, so she left me for an agonizing hour to deliver the other baby. She finally got back and broke my water. I was so sleep deprived I felt a little delirious as to what was going on. I certainly didn't have the strength I needed to push this baby out. The pushing was the hardest part. I had no idea what I was in for. The worst contractions came after my water broke and then it was time to push. I didn't know how to push and Julie was trying to tell me what to do but I was confused at first and in too much pain to fully understand what she wanted from me. I only pushed for 10 minutes which felt like forever. The head came first and Stephen and the nurses were all cheering me on. I still had the shoulders and I pushed and pushed all while screaming and yelling. I was almost there. I pushed what I thought would be my last, but he was still in there! I was so confused, so I yelled at Julie to GET HIM OUT! And one more push he was lying on my chest. I couldn't believe it. I did it! All the nurses told me how brave and strong I was for going natural, and how impressed they were with how calm I was during my contractions.
Stephen cut the cord as I stared at my little boy and cried. Stephen was a great support and helped me as best he could to endure the pain. He was very hands on, and surprisingly the only thing that he struggled with was watching them put the IV in my arm. After the placenta was delivered Julie kept pushing on my stomach/uterus as blood gushed out all over the floor. More and more came out until Julie had to either give me pitocen or a blood transfusion because I wouldn't stop bleeding. My uterus stopped contracting to stop the blood flow. After that I found out that I did tear quite a bit--I had a third degree tear which took about an hour to stitch up. I was beyond exhausted. I couldn't stay awake, but the nurses kept coming by every so often to push on my uterus to empty out the blood, and that hurt. I went into recovery to finally get some sleep.
I took full advantage of my 48 hour stay at the hospital as did Stephen--he stayed the night with me both nights even though we wouldn't get too much sleep. I was recovering quite nicely.
Dad's first time changing his diaper
I gave a chocolate cigar to Stephen as soon as Zander was born to celebrate him becoming a father like they did back in the day, haha I love this picture!
He's Here!
Zander James Washburn
Born: November 22, 2013
Time: 4:15 pm
Weighed: 6 lbs 13 oz
19 inches long
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
To Nest or Not to Nest?
I don't know why this whole "nesting" thing hasn't kicked in yet, but I have had no motivation whatsoever to clean my house. I do the normal chores like dishes, vacuum, and pick thing up off the floor every once in while, but nothing more. It takes all my energy just to get ready for the day in the mornings and sometimes I don't even do that.
Well, today even though I didn't want to, I cleaned out and organized the basement bedroom to store all the baby stuff I don't need right now, and cleaned up the nursery now that we have a dresser. I spent all afternoon on this project. I did the nursery last and opened up the first package of mitten-sized diapers to put in the drawer. Then it really hit me--holy cow I'm having a baby next week! I kinda teared up as I imagined wrapping a tiny little bum in those diapers. These past nine months have gone by pretty fast for me, yet these last few weeks have gone by so slow as I get more and more anxious to go into labor. I am so grateful for all the support of my family, on both sides, my friends, and most importantly my husband. Thank you.
Well, today even though I didn't want to, I cleaned out and organized the basement bedroom to store all the baby stuff I don't need right now, and cleaned up the nursery now that we have a dresser. I spent all afternoon on this project. I did the nursery last and opened up the first package of mitten-sized diapers to put in the drawer. Then it really hit me--holy cow I'm having a baby next week! I kinda teared up as I imagined wrapping a tiny little bum in those diapers. These past nine months have gone by pretty fast for me, yet these last few weeks have gone by so slow as I get more and more anxious to go into labor. I am so grateful for all the support of my family, on both sides, my friends, and most importantly my husband. Thank you.
Friday, November 1, 2013
This is What 27 Looks Like
Stephen turned 27 last Wednesday. He was able to take the day off of work for his birthday so we could hang out all day and he could play Madden. Wednesday morning we woke up to the sound of rain outside....and inside. Yep, our roof is still leaking after it supposedly got fixed a few weeks ago. we could hear a loud plop, plop, plop in the attic so we had to get out of bed and get the ladder from the garage to see what was going on, and sure enough, one of the newly installed vents was leaking. We put a bucket under the vent to catch the water and called the roofer only to get no response. I'm still trying to get a hold of someone to come fix it. I have had it with this roofer! Repairmen are the worse kind of people to deal with, or so it has seemed with all the problems we've had in the past year and half; I don't have good luck with any of them.
Anyway, Stephen spent his morning taking it easy playing the PS3 and singing with his guitar while I worked on his cake and went grocery shopping. I only had a few things on my list, but it took me over an hour and a half to get the things I needed and get back home to finish his birthday cake. I was exhausted! Then we went out for lunch to one of Stephen's favorite hamburger places. This day was all about Stephen so I let him do whatever he wanted, except I had to take him to Walgreen's so we could get a few vaccinations before baby arrives. Now with two sore arms we headed home so I could continue on his cake. This cake was a whole day process and you'll see why below when you get a look at it. It was well worth it though! I spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen baking until it was time for dinner. Stephen loves BBQ and we had a gift certificate to Sugarhouse BBQ so that's where we went for dinner. We got home and opened presents and had cake. Stephen was pretty excited about everything he got; especially his new shoes which he desperately needed.
I had been planning on delivering a goody basket to Stephen's work on his birthday all month. It was an "Orange" You Glad it's Your Birthday" basket so everything in it was orange. I was really excited to give it to him, but since he took his birthday off I had to deliver it a day early, and he ended up coming home extra early when it was delivered due to a stomachache. So I barely delivered the basket before he decided to come home that afternoon, so he didn't get to enjoy it as much at his office.
I hope he had a great day and birthday. I love him so much; he deserves a lot more than what I got him for his birthday. I love that whenever I go grocery shopping he listens for me when I get home and immediately runs upstairs to help me unload the car and put the groceries away. He always feeds the cat and lets him outside when I don't want to, cleans the bathroom for me so I don't have to inhale the chemicals with the baby, and always helps me get dinner ready. He always gives me back scratches or massages when we cuddle on the couch, and asks me how I'm feeling with the baby and makes sure I can get comfortable. He is someone I can always count on no matter what. He's going to be such a great dad, and I can't wait to see him in action in just a few short weeks! I love you Stephen.
Anyway, Stephen spent his morning taking it easy playing the PS3 and singing with his guitar while I worked on his cake and went grocery shopping. I only had a few things on my list, but it took me over an hour and a half to get the things I needed and get back home to finish his birthday cake. I was exhausted! Then we went out for lunch to one of Stephen's favorite hamburger places. This day was all about Stephen so I let him do whatever he wanted, except I had to take him to Walgreen's so we could get a few vaccinations before baby arrives. Now with two sore arms we headed home so I could continue on his cake. This cake was a whole day process and you'll see why below when you get a look at it. It was well worth it though! I spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen baking until it was time for dinner. Stephen loves BBQ and we had a gift certificate to Sugarhouse BBQ so that's where we went for dinner. We got home and opened presents and had cake. Stephen was pretty excited about everything he got; especially his new shoes which he desperately needed.
I had been planning on delivering a goody basket to Stephen's work on his birthday all month. It was an "Orange" You Glad it's Your Birthday" basket so everything in it was orange. I was really excited to give it to him, but since he took his birthday off I had to deliver it a day early, and he ended up coming home extra early when it was delivered due to a stomachache. So I barely delivered the basket before he decided to come home that afternoon, so he didn't get to enjoy it as much at his office.
I hope he had a great day and birthday. I love him so much; he deserves a lot more than what I got him for his birthday. I love that whenever I go grocery shopping he listens for me when I get home and immediately runs upstairs to help me unload the car and put the groceries away. He always feeds the cat and lets him outside when I don't want to, cleans the bathroom for me so I don't have to inhale the chemicals with the baby, and always helps me get dinner ready. He always gives me back scratches or massages when we cuddle on the couch, and asks me how I'm feeling with the baby and makes sure I can get comfortable. He is someone I can always count on no matter what. He's going to be such a great dad, and I can't wait to see him in action in just a few short weeks! I love you Stephen.
Toby was just as excited about Stephen's gifts because he spent the rest of the night playing in the wrapping paper, boxes, and gift bags jumping in and out of them and chewing on things.
Stephen's "Orange You Glad it's Your Birthday" gift basket. There were pumpkin cookies, cheetos, orange cream soda, Home Depot gift card, a tie, socks, and tic tacs, among other things in there. Cute huh?
This is the "Tower of Death" cake I spent all day making. It topped at about 8 inches high which is twice the height of a normal layered cake. I only made it into a 6 inch round cake because it was going to be so tall with 6 small layers of chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, cream cheese icing, chocolate butter cream icing, and then covered in a chocolate ganache glaze! It was absolutely the most sinful cake I have ever eaten.
YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
Monday, October 28, 2013
36 Weeks
Wow, I'm huge. Well, good news is that at my last appointment we found that the baby has dropped and things are starting to progress right on schedule. Since he's not all up in my rib cage anymore I can breathe so much easier, but bending down and over is even more impossible. My goal is to have this baby within the next two weeks. That's right, I want him out by the end of next week. I have been exercising, walking, and stretching, among other things, to see if I can't make any more progress. Walking hurts. Oh man, it hurts big time. So does getting up from a chair or from laying down, but what can you do, right? I want him to come as early as possible because I am SO done being pregnant; I just want my body back to myself and to hold my baby in my arms.
Stephen cant wait to meet his little man either. He regularly pushes down on my stomach telling him to come out, haha. I tell him that's not a good idea to keep pushing on my stomach besides the fact that it hurts, its not going to work. He rubs my belly all the time and talks to him telling him how much he loves him and can't wait to meet him and hold him. I love it. We finally have everything organized and put away in the nursery. I found some curtains to put up in the room to hopefully warm things up a bit in there. I'm just waiting now........any day now......
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Pettingill/Watson Baby Shower
Saturday morning I got up early again to help mom finish cleaning and getting everything ready for craft day. By the time everyone arrived we had well over 50+ people there to listen to Grandma talk about Grandpa's history. We had whole families attend including husbands and children; it was really like a mini reunion, we had so many people come. Mom was worried she wouldn't have enough food for everyone, but ended up having lots of leftovers instead. She did a great job on the food. Grandma did an excellent job on her presentation of Grandpa; it was so fun to hear about his life and church callings.
After lunch we had my baby shower put on by Mom, Trish, and Heather. They outdid themselves; I couldn't believe all the decorations, and food they put all their time into. Trish had us play the 'Price is Right' game so she had several baby items that we had to guess how much each one cost and then tally up each item for a grand total. It was kind of hard to know each price since I'm not used to buying baby things yet. The closest person to the grand total won a prize and out of everyone there, it was grandma who won! She guessed within just a few cents. Which was ironic being that she was the oldest one there, lol. There were also three guessing jars full of different candies and I don't remember who won them all, but I was way off!
After the games I got to open all my gifts. There was quite a large pile for me so it took a little while to get through them all. I think towards the end everyone was getting tired of it to be truthful, but I am beyond grateful for everyone who came to support me and my growing family. I love my family so much! I pretty much got everything I needed. Lots of cute clothes, diapers, wipes--the essentials, and so much more. Heather was taking pictures during the shower with my camera and had a hard time with it because first my batteries died and then my memory ran out, so these are the only ones we got during the shower. A HUGE thank you to Mom, Trish, and Heather for doing such an awesome job on the shower, and making me feel spoiled.
After lunch we had my baby shower put on by Mom, Trish, and Heather. They outdid themselves; I couldn't believe all the decorations, and food they put all their time into. Trish had us play the 'Price is Right' game so she had several baby items that we had to guess how much each one cost and then tally up each item for a grand total. It was kind of hard to know each price since I'm not used to buying baby things yet. The closest person to the grand total won a prize and out of everyone there, it was grandma who won! She guessed within just a few cents. Which was ironic being that she was the oldest one there, lol. There were also three guessing jars full of different candies and I don't remember who won them all, but I was way off!
After the games I got to open all my gifts. There was quite a large pile for me so it took a little while to get through them all. I think towards the end everyone was getting tired of it to be truthful, but I am beyond grateful for everyone who came to support me and my growing family. I love my family so much! I pretty much got everything I needed. Lots of cute clothes, diapers, wipes--the essentials, and so much more. Heather was taking pictures during the shower with my camera and had a hard time with it because first my batteries died and then my memory ran out, so these are the only ones we got during the shower. A HUGE thank you to Mom, Trish, and Heather for doing such an awesome job on the shower, and making me feel spoiled.
Adam was the only guy at my shower, lol all the other men were downstairs playing pool
Trish did a great job on the game!
Opening gifts. Thank you everyone!!
The cute treats Heather made. They were all so cute! Goldfish marshmallow, rice krispy treats, life savor pacifiers, and oreo truffles
My sisters who made it to the shower. Heather left before I got a picture with her
My favorite. Becky surprised me with three blankets she made for me before she moved to Washington. I loved all the patterns she picked out and the cute stitching around the blankets. I have the most awesome sister! Thank you Becky!!!
Aunt Jenele also made me a blanket. She put a lot of time into it because she did some of the stitching by hand. I love everything about this quilt--the fabric, colors, and pattern. I love it!
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