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
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