SO MANY UPDATES!

I know, I know.  It's been too long.  Whoops!  It's hard remembering to blog, especially when I am on limited time home with my baby boy.  I'll do my best to be more punctual!  For my amends, I promise to include lots of pictures in this post. :)  To start off, here's a picture of the dude bundled up for the Christmas light/tractor parade in our town:

Christmas has come and gone and this sweet little man made out like a bandit!  Maddox got the cutest gifts ever.  Some of my favorites include a personalized blanket I ordered for him, a personalized puzzle of his name, blocks that have special sayings and info on them from when he was born, and his future jumper/exercauser!  He got even more gifts than Andy and I did, and his pile is still sitting at the Christmas tree waiting to be put away.  I guess he needs to start putting things away. ;)

 The dude is jacked about Christmas.

Lately Maddox has been sleeping pretty well.  I know I was interested before on moving him into the crib, but after much feedback from several of you via Facebook, I'm no longer in a hurry.  He is sleeping well in his rock and play and I see no need for all of us to miss out on sleep just because he is a certain age.  The fact of the matter is, Maddox has clearly expressed that he isn't really ready to sleep in his crib and I am totally okay with that.  Our doctor did confirm that Maddox has acid reflux and he is now on medication for this, which contributed to my decision not to move him to the crib just yet.  He does need to continue to be elevated after he eats and this includes bedtime, and the rock and play allows this.  He likes sleeping in there and pretty much goes right to sleep most nights after our routine.  Perhaps I'll post more about our bedtime routine and see if you think I'm leaving anything out.

Today Maddox had his two-month checkup and his first round of shots (besides his HBV as a newborn).  We took both a before and after picture which I've included below.  He was very happy after being weighed and measured and I even snapped the picture of him smiling!  Maddox was examined by the doctor who agrees that Maddox is very strong for his age and is very cute. :)  He then was given his first round of shots and HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT.  He was even mad afterward while getting dressed.  We immediately gave him tylenol afterward and then fed him a bottle.  After this, we strapped him into the carseat and he slept like a champ for 2.5 hours while we ran errands and drove home.  When he awoke again, he was a super angry little wild thing.  He ate and then was still angry.  I gave him his pacifier and held him on his side and he went quickly to sleep again.  He's now sleeping on my Aunt's lap as I type.

Before...

After being weighed/before shots...

After :(

My Aunt Brenda is here visiting again and (I must say) appears to be quite enamored with Maddox. I mean, he is pretty damn cute, right?

Maddox just completed a wonder week/leap and it really wasn't as bad as the first.  Tonight after his shots was actually much, much worse than his recent leap.  I can only hope he continues to be as easy this week as he has been! :)

Maddox has newly discovered his love of lights and has been completely preoccupied with all things lights over the past few weeks.  This week he discovered the TV and is totally obsessed with it--especially the Harry Potter marathon that has been on this weekend.  Can you blame him? :)

Finally, today I made several bottles before we left the house and took four with us-three in the collar pack and one in the side of the diaper bag out to warm up.  Sadly, the three in the bag got turned over and leaked out of the tops of the bottles/into the cooler bag.  Every.  Single.  Drop.  Nine ounces of wasted milk.  This mommy was very, very sad about the wasted milk. :(

Until next time...Xoxo

Christmas Traditions

Before we had Maddox, we had simple Christmas traditions.  We would go to Andy's parents' house on Christmas eve to celebrate, then come home and watch Christmas vacation and have cocktails and spinach dip.  We started this tradition a few years ago and there was more than one occasion that ended in me being slightly drunk on Christmas Eve... :) Andy and I have typically been irresponsible and can't seem to wait until Christmas day to open our presents, so we typically open them on Christmas eve with continued cocktails.Then on Christmas morning, there is usually a firetruck that delivers goodie bags to little ones that I always received when I was little and look forward to Maddox getting one next year!  Then we head over to my parents' house and open gifts at their house and have a late lunch with wine.  For fun, here's a throwback from a few years ago at our old house on Christmas Eve (the date is wrong--it was more like 2011)

This year, we have baby Maddox and I feel more traditional than normal!  I feel pressure to celebrate all of his "firsts" and want to try and make every moment with him special.  I've been working this week to try and compile the list of things I'd like to do for/with him this holiday season, and have included it below:
-Picture with Santa
-Pictures at the Magic Tree
-Christmas Eve box (see below)
-new ornament for the Christmas tree each year
-Picture with first snow that sticks
-Baking day with me
-Special cookie and milk plate and mug for Santa on Christmas eve
-Watching Rudolph (even though he won't know it this year)

The Christmas Eve box I've created this year includes a new Christmas book and a new set of pajamas because he's so little. In the future, I'd like to include some hot chocolate and popcorn for him to enjoy as we read said book or watch a Christmas movie together as a family.

What other ideas do you guys have?  Are there things that you do with your little ones that you think might be fun ideas for me to start with this sweet little face this year?

I leave you with a picture of this smiley, happy little man. :)

Xoxo, Sarah

To crib or not to crib...

Welcome, friends!

During the past two weeks we have been quite busy!  We had newborn pictures taken with Maddox, put up our Christmas tree, went shopping and got all of our presents wrapped! (along with so many other things...)

We managed a shopping trip while I wore Maddox in the baby carrier.  He absolutely loves the carrier and tends to just fall asleep as soon as I put him in there.  I actually really love having him in the carrier!  I love having him close to me, and I think he loves it too!  He lets me get so much done when he's in there!  I ended up putting up our Christmas tree this year while I was wearing him in the carrier.  I managed to put up the tree, move furniture, and clean the floors all while wearing him!  So glad he is now big enough that I can enjoy it!

We also think Maddox has some reflux issues.  Lately, he's been spitting up and often it's chunky (no bueno).  A lot of times after he burps or spits up, he cries for no reason and we have to hold him, rock him, or just pat him/try to burp him again.  It's really sad because most times we don't know what the problem is until after he's spit up again or burped again or gets himself calmed down.  I feel like I'm rambling here but...you get the idea.  His spit up issues are not fun.

Yesterday we attempted to put Maddox in his crib for his first nap.  He was already asleep when I put him down, but Andy reminded me I should try him in his crib.  I put him in there with his favorite sound app on and the door cracked.  He slept for around 20 minutes.  He then woke up and wanted to eat again and after that, it was game over.  I couldn't get him back down in the crib for longer than 8 minutes.  We decided last night we would try to just get Maddox sleeping in his bassinet, which is a flat sleeping situation.  Prior to last night, he'd been sleeping in his rock and play.  However, while trying to get him to sleep last night (and while Andy and I were drifting off to happy sleepy dream land), we both awoke to what sounded like Maddox spitting up and weird breathing sounds.  So...for now, I think the crib AND the bassinet are out.  I'd really rather him just sleep and be able to sleep without me having to stare at him all night to make sure he's breathing.

Speaking of, this little monster might be getting a cold.  His little breaths are sounding sorta ragged as I type tonight.  Isn't he about the age he's losing some of my antibodies and starting to form his own immune system (or lack thereof)?  I hope he's not getting sick.  Poor guy.

Today something amazing happened.  Maddox and I awoke after a long night of several feedings.  I fed him and got a washcloth ready to clean his booty for a diaper change. (We are still not using wipes to help heal his diaper rash, which is almost gone!)  I was talking to him in a happy little voice, and guess what happened?  This sweet little man smiled at me.  Not an asleep smile, not a smile that was from gas, but a full-on, "hey mommy" smile!  And then again while I was changing his diaper!  My heart melted and I of course started crying.  I love this sweet little munchkin so very much.

I'm sad to think that as of today I have only 30 days left with my baby boy before I have to go back to work.  I am only able to take ten weeks of maternity leave for financial reasons, but feel truly blessed that I was able to have more time than most women get to stay home with their little ones!

I leave you with a couple of our pictures done by the incredibly talented Jocelyn Bernard.  They are absolutely stunning and I'm so excited to share them!

Until next time...Xoxo

Four weeks of life!

Welcome, friends!

Our little wild thing is now four weeks old and growing every day!  He is gaining weight quickly and doing well!  I thought I'd use this post to share some happenings since his birth that I've kept quiet and just updates on life with this sweet little guy.

As most of you may know, when Maddox was born he had some breathing complications and had to be observed for an additional amount of time before he could come be in our room.  This was a major concern for us when we first brought him home, but our fears were eased when we later visited the doctor and he confirmed that it sounded like all of the fluid was out of his lungs and his breathing appeared normal.

Another thing that we learned is that I have hyperlactation/strong letdown/oversupply of breastmilk.  Because of this, Maddox would fuss during most of our nursing sessions and would often choke while nursing because the milk would come out so fast.  The only option to help cure this?  Pump before nursing.  I debated and felt that although I could potentially do this, it would create a lot more work and difficulty.  Have you heard a baby crying at 2am because he's hungry and doesn't want to wait another second before eating?  Exactly.  Pumping before nursing just didn't make sense to me.  Because of this, I've taken to pumping my milk and feeding it to him via bottle.  It has worked WONDERS for us and I am so happy that he can continue to reap the benefits of drinking breastmilk!

On the afternoon of Halloween, we received some concerning news from our doctor that we needed to repeat our newborn screening as Maddox tested in the borderline range for both Cystic Fibrosis and Hypothyroidism.  We were alarmed, scared, confused, anxious, and very, very sad about the possibility that our sweet little man could have either of these disorders.  It made for a very depressing Halloween!!  We took him that afternoon to have his screening re-done.  When we went to our pediatrician the following week for his two-week checkup, he confirmed what we had hoped and prayed for the entire week prior--clear test results and a healthy baby boy!

Maddox developed a diaper rash around the 2.5-3 week old mark.  I couldn't figure out why he was crying during every diaper change until Andy pointed out the rash.  It ended up getting worse and worse and is now quite blistered!  We went to the doctor for this one, too.  You might recall me asking for help for this on Facebook prior to our doctor appointment.  We tried Boudreaux's, Vaseline, A&D, powder, and Desitin.  The doctor recommended Mylanta/Maalox and Desitin mixed together.  I mixed this up and threw in some anti fungal cream and some neosporin for good measure.  It's healing slooooowwwwwly. :)

Feeding is going well!  Around 2 weeks old Maddox spoiled us and slept around 5 hours one night (it was the night of the time change).  Ever since then I've been hopeful....without result.  He typically goes 3 hours between feedings.  When I started pumping and feeding, this became a little difficult and time consuming at night, because I let Andy sleep at night (he's still working and I'm not--I felt it only fair!) and I got up to feed Maddox, change him, and pump.  It took over an hour each time he woke up.  This weekend I finally purchased a hands-free pumping bra and it has changed feeding time!  I am able to pump while feeding Maddox in the middle of the night and then change his diaper and back to bed!  It takes around 20 minutes, which is incredible as compared to the time I spent before we developed our routine!

Maddox has also stopped wanting to be swaddled.  Sometime last week he started fussing when I would try to swaddle him in his swaddle sack.  I had previously read somewhere that crying/fussing during swaddling was a sign that babies no longer want to be swaddled.  I put him in a sleep sack instead, which allows his arms to be free and his legs are still sort of contained in a sack.  Although he does move around more and it takes him a little longer to get to sleep, he isn't fussing any longer.  I'm open to ideas on how to get him down at night more quickly.  He tends to be restless at night when I first put him down and I have to hold in his pacifier for a long time before he goes to sleep.  Once he gets to sleep, he sleeps like a champ for 2-3 hours, but the getting him there isn't ideal.  Ideas??

I cannot believe that in three short days my little man will be one month old.  I keep looking back to the day I met him and first kissed his sweet little face with such joy.  I have truly enjoyed the past four weeks with him and cannot wait to watch him grow into a fun little monster!

PS, it's true.  Already Maddox loves pooping and farting as loud as possible.  It's a boy thing. :)

Happy two-week birthday, Maddox!

Welcome, friends!  Thanks for your patience in waiting for this post.  It turns out that having a newborn doesn't lend itself well to blogging because I really just want to hold him and kiss his face ALL DAY LONG.

It also doesn't help when this sweet little bear wakes up with these kind of smiles :)

Today we went on our first walk!  Frank didn't do so hot.  I think because we have been putting on his walking harness when people come over that he hasn't met before (to help corral his crazy) and so when I put it on him today, he wasn't sure if he was getting another visitor or going for a walk.  We spent the first five minutes of the walk with Frank pulling away, despite the harness, to the point I couldn't even push the stroller with both hands.  (Good thing it was in the middle of the day in Centralia!:) )  He finally chilled out and I was able to snap a picture of my two sweet little guys.

Speaking of Frank--he does appear to be more mellow since we brought Maddox home.  Frank has always been quite hyper and busy, and we were quite worried that he wouldn't do well with the baby. However, he's been pretty gentle and hasn't barked THAT much.  He's only barked toward the baby maybe twice.  He does still bark at other things, but as most of you told me, it doesn't usually appear to bother Maddox and he usually sleeps right through it!

Many of you have asked, and yes, we are breastfeeding.  Thus far it has been rewarding!  We have had some obstacles as we were given a nipple shield at the hospital and Maddox feeds really well from it, but I'd like to not use.  We are still trying to wean off the shield.  We've also had some issues with gas.  Maddox seems to have some painful gas despite me burping him after every feeding (sometimes even halfway through) and we seem to have to give him gripe water or gas relief quite often.  If you have tips or ideas on how to help either of these options, I would LOVE to hear them!

Giant shout out to my friend Allex for helping create Maddox's halloween costume after the one I purchased was about 6 months too big for him, although it says "infant" on the package.  I love Halloween and was so excited that we could dress Maddox up as Max from Where the Wild Things Are!  I can't wait to take him trick-or-treating next year, and my mind is already working on what we can all three dress up as together!

I can't believe this sweet little munchkin is already two weeks old.  I have enjoyed every moment with him and cannot believe how quickly the past two weeks have flown by!  I look forward to watching him grow and spending time with him and his sweet Daddy, too!

PS-Anyone else notice that my baby made the decision that he wanted to be born on Monday (aka blog day)?

Until next time...Xo

THREE!

I'm not even sure how to start this post.  The post I have been dreaming of two years for.  The post and blessing I prayed and hoped and wished for.  Our family has been blessed and we are officially a family of THREE!

I hadn't planned mentally for baby boy to be here so soon!  Last Thursday at our appointment, our doctor said I hadn't really changed and was still at 2cm dilated and 50% effaced and my plug was still gone. He estimated that baby would be no bigger than 8 lbs at full term, but he could give us a better update the last two weeks of our pregnancy.

Friday I was truly blessed as my office threw me a surprise, Green Bay Packer themed, baby shower! My coworkers even dressed in green and yellow.  It was a fantastic day!

The weekend was really low key.  I can't even tell you what we did, so it wasn't anything spectacular. Saturday we went on a walk and I remember having a few contractions but I drank water and relaxed and they stopped.  Sunday I got my breast pump ready so I could make sure I knew how to use it whenever baby decided to make his arrival.

I woke up Monday morning around 7:30 to what felt like I had peed myself.  I went to go to the bathroom to try and pee and more "liquid" came out before I peed.  I knew something was up, but I wasn't having contractions and nothing felt different so I called my friend who just had a baby.  I told her I thought I was just going to go back to bed.  She told me to call hubs, so I did.  He said "did you call the hospital?!"  I said no, I hadn't.  I was planning to go back to sleep and see if there were any changes later.  He said I needed to call the hospital, so I did.  The hospital recommended I come in ASAP.  I called hubs back and he said he would come to get me--he took my car that day as I was planning on working from home and doing paperwork.  I knew he would be at least 30 minutes before he got home to get me, so I told him I was going to take a shower.

At that point, I was all adrenaline.  I was scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time.  I got in the shower and the switched was flipped.  I started having contractions.  By the time I was getting out of the shower, I was moaning in pain.  I joke now that the neighbors likely thought something crazy was happening at our house because I was being so loud!  Andy got home and I was putting on my makeup.  I asked him to grab the additional things to put in our hospital bag, just in case we ended up getting admitted to the hospital.  (I still wasn't convinced I was in labor).  However, the closer that we got to the hospital, the stronger my contractions got.  I was sure I was dying!!

PS.  I took a picture with our board for the week that my friend Jaime made this weekend.  Turns out it didn't go to waste, but should've read something more like BABY COMING SOON!

We got checked in and I got checked by the nurse.  Yes, I was in labor and dilated to a three.  As she checked me in and got my history, my contractions continued to get closer together and much stronger still.  She informed me that we would be staying  (AND YES AGAIN, HAVING A BABY TODAY!!!!!).  As exciting as this news was to me, I was in so much pain I wasn't even thinking about that.  I was thinking holy shit, this hurts.  I was writhing in pain with each contraction and even screamed into the speaker at the side of the bed (which wasn't on).

I finally got moved from the evaluation side of labor and delivery and the actual labor room.  It felt like forever, but this part sorta became a blur.  I was waiting patiently for the epidural and did get finally get it!  It was sweet, sweet relief.  After that, I was just laying and talking with hubs and my Mama, who was also there during delivery.  It felt like such a short time later I was being checked again and my cervix was at an eight!  It was SO quick!  I have no idea what time it actually was, but we were checked in at L&D around 9 and by 12 the nurses were prepping me to push!

I started pushing around 12 and wasn't making a ton of progress, although eventually Andy and my mom were able to see baby's head, and then more and more of it!  My mom stayed in with us to take photos for our family later.  Although the nurse said I was pushing exactly how I should be, things weren't moving on that quickly.  My doctor came in around 2 something and helped move things along and around down there.  And you know what?  Just a few minutes later, mid-push session, Andy told me to look down.  And you know what else?  My perfect little boy was right there, taking his first breaths.

I was immediately overwhelmed with emotion!  I am again as I write this post.  They cleaned him up and put him on my chest to love on.  They then explained that they wanted to put him under the warming light for just a few minutes to monitor his breathing.  Since he was early term, they expressed that there could be a chance that he would have breathing complications so extra nurses came to examine him.  He ended up going to the nursery for additional monitoring.  It seemed like an eternity but Andy said it couldn't have been more than 30 minutes.  I was panicking and telling him to go find our baby.  They quickly brought him back to us and we got to breastfeed for the first time together.  He stayed with us the rest of the night until we sent him to the nursery so we could both rest.

Over the next two days, we had lots of visitors and love sent our direction, which I cannot express my gratitude for.  This beautiful little being has captured my entire heart and I love him so very much!  I love all of the little sounds that he makes and his crazy stares.  He's absolute perfection.

I cannot wait to help continue writing the story of his life, and welcome you all along for the journey!

Thank you again for all of the love, kind words, gifts, and thoughts sent our way!  Xoxoxo

36 Weeks/Good News/Maternity Pics

For the record, I did my own chalkboard this weekend.  It's exciting to me that I may only have a few more chalkboards left before M's arrival!

How far along? 36 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: Around 17 pounds total according to the scale last week.

Baby is the size of a/an: A crenshaw melon??  Anyone heard of this before?  I joke that it's the ghetto melon :)

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I'm pretty much tired of putting on anything except for sweatpants and a t-shirt most days.  
Stretch marks? So far no, but I do have this little number on the underside of my tummy that is either a stretch mark or a scratch that won't heal.  I'm thinking the former?

Sleep: Sleep this week continues to be good for the most part!  Sad to think I need to start weaning myself off using my earplugs because soon I won't be able to...

Best moment this week: Getting great news from the doctor at our appointment!  My body has already started to prep for labor and I am officially 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced AND my mucus plug is gone.  (Sorry if that's TMI for you!)  Currently experiencing some mild contractions as I type, so hoping to continue to get good news this week when we visit!  Also great was taking maternity pictures this weekend!! :)

Have you told family and friends: Yes! 

Miss Anything? Peeing without having to pee again 10 minutes later.

Movement: All the time!  He even woke me up again the other night moving around.  I was seriously  worried something was wrong when he woke me up because he was moving so much!

Food cravings: Um, not really anything.  Chipotle, though, ALWAYS sounds good.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week that I can put my finger on, but I have had a couple of rounds of nausea that I can't tell what the cause was!

Have you started to show yet: Yes!

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: Clearly I'm having contractions at least at some point thus far...

Belly Button in or out? In!  It's not going anywhere.

Wedding rings on or off? Still off, and not coming back anytime soon.

Weekly Wisdom: I don't have any wisdom this week because I'm too busy kicking ass at work to do anything else.  

Looking forward to: Doctor appointment this Friday, and meeting sweet baby M very soon!

As mentioned above, we did our maternity pictures this weekend!  Below are some of my favorites:

And our hospital bag is packed and ready in case M decides to make his arrival early.  We are so excited and ready to meet you, sweet little man!

XoXo...