First 2 weeks with Mr. Michael :)

I’m finally getting around to updating about my new and exciting life with little Michael at home! I (wrongly) assumed that he would mostly sleep all day and that I would have all the time and energy in the world to blog about him and the adorable things he does. Having this little munchkin around is quite time consuming but it is 110% worth it. He puts a huge smile on my face all day every day and I really cannot imagine life without him.

We were all very much excited to come home on Thursday, but a bit nervous as the nurses wouldn’t be around to help or tell us if we were doing something wrong. The night went really well; he woke up on schedule for his feedings every 2-3 hours. I would breastfeed, David would burp him and change the dirty diapers. Perfect system. Unfortunately, M’s daddy had to go back to VA late that night/morning which made me even more nervous and anxious about having to take care of M all by myself without any help. Saturday morning was Michael’s first doctor’s visit. Nothing really exciting happened, he was weighed, measured and his circumcision and umbilical cord stump were inspected. He cried the entire time; poor thing doesn’t like doctors very much. I had to breastfeed him in the car in the parking lot afterwards in order to calm him down and fill his little belly so he would take a nice nap for the ride home. His next appointment is in 2 weeks.

Temperament:

Michael is the most peaceful little baby. Without exaggerating, he rarely cries. I can count on one hand the amount of times he’s had a cry session since being home and even those times that he did cry, it was pretty short lived. He is awake for a few random hours throughout the day during which he loves to just look around and hang out either on his boppy pillow or in his bouncer. He is incredibly alert and is very good at focusing on objects or faces. His eyes will be wide open and he’ll turn his head towards sounds or whoever is talking to him. Such a smart little baby already!

When he is upset or wants something (the boob) he makes a little “ahh!” sound which gets increasingly loud and demanding if it goes ignored. He kind of sounds like a squawking bird when he does it. It’s super cute!

He loves being held, although I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m the one with the boobs that feed him. In the mornings he likes to hang out on my bed in his boppy pillow and look out the window or take a little catnap while I wake myself up completely. He then comes and chills in his bouncer in the dining room while I eat breakfast. The whole time he just observes his surroundings, taking it all in.

Feeding:

While we were at the hospital, I couldn’t breastfeed right away due to the infections/fevers I had, so he was started on formula from the bottle. He had a lot of trouble latching on and feeding him was quite difficult and caused us and the doctors to worry. Once he got the boob, however, he became a total pro at feeding and now refuses the bottle entirely. I exclusively breastfeed him and he loves it. For the majority of the day/night he is on a good schedule of feeding every 2-3 hours or so. However, he recently began cluster feeding in the mornings, so from about 5am to 10am, he will want to nurse every hour to hour and a half. It’s extremely exhausting so when he sleeps in between those feedings, I do as well. I’ll still usually feel like a zombie afterwards, but after that, he’ll take a huge nap for about 4 hours or so, allowing me to shower, eat, rest, update my blog, etc. I spoke to a nurse about this, and based on his weight gain, he’s just going through his 2 week old growth spurt! Yesterday I decided to start giving him a bottle of pumped milk 1x per day in order to help him practice his bottle latch. I won’t always be home to feed him in the future, so it would be good for him to be capable of taking a bottle. Overall, it went well, but he still needed a lot of chin support. I’m not worried, he’ll get the hang out it!

In between feeds, he is very good at producing massive poopy diapers/wet diapers. So I know he’s definitely getting enough to eat. He is also a pro at burping and has only spit up once.

Sleeping:

He is a great sleeper! He naps regularly and while he sometimes fights the urge to sleep, once he does fall asleep, he is a deep sleeper so I don’t really need to tip toe around him. His favorite places to sleep are in his bassinet, on my chest or on his boppy but I only let him sleep on the boppy if I’m next to him…just in case! He makes all kinds of funny noises when he sleeps too…grunts, snorts, snores, coos, etc.  As I mentioned before, he’ll usually nap between feedings, sometimes he stays awake and hangs out, but he takes a long nap around lunch time for about 4 hours. It’s a nice break for me.

Health/Milestones:

Birth:

Height: 22 inches

Weight: 7lb 4oz.

9 days:

Height: 22.25 inches

Weight: 7lb 13oz.

17 days:

Height: 22.25 inches

Weight: 9lbs! (I weighed him on my scale, so this isn’t 100% accurate, but based on his size, I believe it!)

Despite his rough start on life, he is an extremely healthy baby and as far as I can tell, he is exactly where he needs to be at almost 3 weeks old. He makes eye contact, he is very alert, he turns his head towards noises/face, and he has a whole ton of facial expressions that he tests out throughout the day! He has smiled a whole bunch of times, and today he even laughed! Although I don’t think he laughed consciously…I think it was more reactive…possibly gas. Oh well, he’ll be laughing soon!

We started tummy time last week. I’m starting off with him on my chest. He is so good at it and has such strong little neck muscles! He can lift his head for about 3-5 seconds and turn it both ways. He lifts very well, but is still learning to control lowering his head without slamming it back down on my chest.

Size:

He still wears newborn size diapers and newborn size clothes fit him perfectly. He is slowly growing into the 0-3 month size clothes, but they are still a bit big on him.

Activities:

There isn’t a whole lot you can do with a newborn considering how much they sleep, but everyday we do the following:

Hang out and talk (aka I just ramble on to him in my baby voice)

Listen to music as I sing to him

Tummy time

Play mat time

Walk around the block

Sit outside once it’s cooler out

Sponge bath

Read a few books together

FEED

Updates:

Circumcision is completely healed, and 90% of the umbilical cord has fallen off! Yay! (That thing was really nasty) I developed mastitis in my right boob. SO painful, but now I’m on antibiotics so hopefully within a couple of days it will be all gone.

Overall, I am LOVING life with Mr. Michael at home with me. He is a beautiful baby and is perfect in every way! I love the time we spend bonding and I could stare at him for hours on end. He has grown so much these last 2.5 weeks and part of me wishes he could stay a cute little baby forever. I love him SO much. 

Birth Story!

Michael David is officially here! He arrived on August 9, 2012 weighing in at 7lbs 4oz and measuring 22 inches long! He is such a little fighter and after reading his birth story, you will definitely agree that he is the strongest little man.

It all started at my doctor’s appointment on Wednesday at 12:30. Doctor told me I was only dilated 2 cm but I was 75% effaced, so technically I was still progressing appropriately. Since I was already at 39 weeks 4 days, I asked for an induction and scheduled one for that Friday at 7am. Well, apparently Michael decided that that just wasn’t soon enough. I got home from the appointment and for the rest of the afternoon, I had some pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions. It wasn’t until later that night at 9:30 that I started timing them. What do you know, the contractions were on average, 3 minutes apart and lasted about 1 minute long. I then waited until about 12:30am before calling my doctor to ask her whether or not she thought I should go to L&D (Labor and Delivery) at the hospital. I went in and they monitored Michael and I for about 2 hours. They and I decided that I should go home for the night and “labor at home” and then return to the hospital when the contractions become way stronger to the point that they were unbearable. In the meantime, I called David and he immediately got in his truck and started on the drive up from VA. Fortunately, because it was the middle of the night, he didn’t hit any traffic and made it to my house at 4am. I was up all night as the contractions got stronger. At 6:30am, I was pacing the house trying to cope with the pain; I took a shower, called the hospital and let them know I would be coming in shortly. David and I got to the hospital at 8:30am – by then I could barely walk/talk the contractions were so bad. I was immediately put in a bed and told to relax and just “labor through the pain.” Yea ok. After a few hours of excruciating pain, squeezing David’s hands numb, and the standard birthing moaning noises, I was begging doctors for an epidural, literally begging. To hell with the whole natural birth thing, I just wanted pain meds & relief. At 2pm I finally got the epidural and it was amazing…for the hour and a half that it actually lasted on me. For some reason my right side would start un-numbing about an hour and a half after getting the injections. I suffered some more as the contractions on that side were ripping through me and got an epi refill around 4:30pm. Around 5:30pm, after realizing that my lazy cervix really didn’t want to dilate much more than 6 cm or so, the midwife broke my water. (aka she poked a hole in the sac where the baby was to drain all the amniotic fluid and move the whole process along) It was then that pretty much all hell broke loose.

Once all the fluid came out, the midwife realized that it had a really weird look and smell to it, not like “normal” amniotic fluid. It was infected. Immediately I was stuck with an IV and given fluids and antibiotics to fight whatever kind of infection this may have been. During that time, I spiked a fever of 103 degrees +, my heart rate was in the 140s and Michael’s heart rate fluctuated between 160 and almost 200. I had no idea what was going on during this time, but David and my mom knew that something very bad was happening. With the fever, I was sweating bullets but was soo cold I was shaking so violently it really must have looked like I had epilepsy. On top of all of this, my 2^nd epidural refill was wearing off again on the right side. Another anesthesiologist came in around 7:30pm and pumped me full of meds. He was awesome and really hooked me up; so much so that I was completely numb from the ribs down for a few hours after that. I felt a little better, but both Michael and I were still not doing very well. Around 9:30pm, the midwife came in to see if I was dilated any further; apparently I was about 9cm and was given the go ahead to start pushing. I started pushing around 9:45pm. Thankfully I was 100% numb “down there” and couldn’t feel a darn thing. I had record time pushing apparently and got little Michael out in 11 pushes – 20 minutes! It wasn’t all fine and dandy though. David and my mom were holding my legs so I couldn’t see what was going on, I just pushed like I was taking the biggest poop on the planet. As Michael’s head approached the exit, it became very apparent to everyone (except me bc I was basically in a trance) that something was wrong. He was kind of stuck and something was holding him back. All of a sudden, midwife says his head is out and she begins calling for clamps and scissors. I can’t see what she’s doing but I’m wondering why David wasn’t cutting the cord as originally planned. Everyone is quiet, my mom and David are staring at what she’s doing and telling me that everything is fine when it really wasn’t. Turns out the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around Michael’s neck 3 times. Poor little guy couldn’t get out because the cord was choking him. Once the mw finished cutting it, he came out all the way. No crying, no screaming. Just silence. There were about 5 nurses also in the room with us. 3 of them grabbed Michael’s limp body and rushed him to the heating table. The next 5 minutes were the longest and worst 5 minutes ever. At first I didn’t realize what was going on, but when I finally did, I was hysterical. He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving, he was white. After about 4 and a half minutes we heard a little cough and he moved just a little bit. The nurses quickly wrapped him up, brought him over to me and let me give him a kiss on the cheek and then they whisked him away. David went and stayed with him.

I was sewn back together and waited and waited to hear back from nurses or doctors as to what was going on with Michael. Finally the neonatologist came in and gave me a list of all sorts of tests and things that needed to be done, to include a spinal tap. David and I agreed to everything in Michael’s best interest. Meanwhile, I was still running this crazy fever of 103 and was told that once I was fever free, I had to go another 24 hrs of being fever free before I could go into the NICU and come into contact with Michael. I cried. All I wanted to do was hold my baby and I hadn’t gotten to do that.

24 hours later, 12:30am the next day, I was able to hold my baby Michael for the first time. David has it on video…me crying and being emotional while meeting my precious little man. He is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I couldn’t/can’t get enough of him. Later that day around 10am, I spike another fever of 103. Not only am I back in quarantine from seeing my baby, but doctors are realizing that there is something wrong with me too. After a bunch of blood tests, blood cultures and a catscan, it is revealed that I have an infection from the amniotic fluid, a kidney infection/UTI, and fluid in my lungs – awesome! They started me on antibiotics and I waited for the next 24 hours to pass so I could see Michael again.

He, in the meantime, was doing GREAT! His tests were coming back negative for all the scary things that he could have been suffering from. The doctors decided however, to keep him in the NICU an extra week to continue giving him antibiotics against possible infection from the amniotic fluid. He is such a strong baby and such a fighter. Throughout his whole ordeal, he was so calm and peaceful, rarely crying, making the cutest faces and just being the best baby on the planet.

Now- he started breastfeeding on Monday and is an absolute champ at it! He now weighs 7lbs 10 oz! He eats round the clock so David and I don’t really get much sleep. :/ to be expected with a newborn… I finished my rounds of antibiotics and am now staying at the hospital just waiting for him to finish his antibiotics. He is getting discharged tomorrow – Thursday and will finally be able to come home!! We will have been here for an entire week, but in the end we are both healthy and strong and more than 100% ready to begin our new life as a little family.

Thank you to everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it! 

Week 39 - 1 week to go!

Countdown: 6 days to go! (SINGLE DIGITS!!)

How far along: 39 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain: I'm now at 23 lbs total weight gained. Woof. I hope this baby comes soon so I can cap the weight gain and look forward to weight LOSS! Another appointment on Wed. Hopefully I won't make it till then!

Maternity clothes?: In this heat, I'd rather be naked. 

Stretch marks?: Nopes!
Belly button, in or out?: Out. I'm convinced it's permanently stretched out and will never look normal again.
Sleep: I pretty much don't sleep anymore. It's been awful. I'm either sweating, peeing, itching, cramping or contracting. This results in a cranky and  mentally/physically exhausted Fiona. Practice for when M is here.
Cravings: Homemade pizza. YUM! Can put whatever I want on it & eat it whenever I feel like it.
Showing yet?: Showing is an understatement. Exploding is more like it.
Happy or Moody?: Yes....but mostly IMPATIENT. These last few weeks have been killer.  

Movement: Still moving like crazy, still kicking me like crazy, it seems like he's desperate to get out...but he's not making a move!
Best moment this week: Knowing that my due date is on Saturday! These 9 months went by fast, but right now time is crawling.
Things I miss: Being pain free. I'm sore all over. :/
Gender: BOY!
Looking forward to: MEETING MICHAEL DAVID!
Due Date: August 11^th


So this past week has been pretty eventful in terms of contractions and cramping. At my doctor's appointment on Thursday, OB said I was about 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. According to her, this is amazing progress and I'll supposedly have an "easy delivery". I really hope she's right, although I wish she could give me an exact date that he'll arrive! According to her estimates, he weighs about 7 lbs, his heart is beating perfectly healthily, and he's more than ready to come out! I'm kind of convinced that I'm going to go past my due date so I have another dr appt set up for the Monday after my EDD during which we would discuss induction. I'm not really willing to go past 40.5 weeks. I've been pregnant long enough! Friday night I had about 5 hours of intense contractions and back cramping. The contractions felt like really strong period cramps combined with a tightness of the whole uterus. And my back was KILLING me. I was in a cold sweat until about 1:30am when I finally was able to fall asleep...kind of. When I woke up in the morning, setting aside how exhausted I was, the contractions had subsided. I had seriously considered going into L&D as I was thinking "this is it!!" but you're not supposed to go in if you can still talk through the contractions. Next time it happens, screw it. I'm going in.

Fingers crossed for something to happen for real this week! I'm really tired of being pregnant! While I've been too tired to "nest" properly, I did clean M's part of the room and reorganize a couple of drawers. I'll put up some pictures in a separate post. 


I decided to take one of those cheesy heart pictures with a belly. Had to...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, like a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.