Okay, so I'm not very good at finding time to keep up with my blog! I started writing this post last week and I am just now finding time to sit down and finish it!
So, my little guy is seven weeks old! I can't believe how fast the time goes! The little one is doing so well. He is definitely growing, which is sad but exciting at the same time, I love watching him become more alert and aware of the world around him. We've had a few milestones in the past couple of weeks . . . some smiles and attempts at laughing . . . and the biggest of all . . . WE ARE ONLY WAKING UP ONCE AT NIGHT! Okay, really it's still hit or miss, but Aedan is finally finding a groove and adjusting to a "schedule" of sorts. He'll go to bed any time between 9:00 and 10:00 and sleep until some time between 1:00 and 3:00 when he gets up for a "short" feeding, and then goes back to sleep until somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00. It's still exhausting for me, but SOOOOOOOOOOO much better then the unhappy nights I've spent on the couch and the every 2 hour night feedings I had been suffering through the first 5 weeks! I've managed not to spoil Aedan like I did his big brother . . . Aedan will easily drift off to sleep on his own if I lay him down. The only thing . . . the little guy sleeps on his stomach . . . even though all the "rule" books say, back is better. I tried so hard to get him to sleep on his back. I even tried the swaddle blankets, but NOTHING and I mean NOTHING would work. When I lay him down on his back he's awake within 20 minutes. So, I finally gave up and tried the stomach . . . and Voila! He sleeps like a champ!
There have been a few nights where little Aedan has slept too well and Mommy has had to get up anyway to pump her breasts. So, even though the middle of the night feeding deprives me of sleep, it brings me comfort in the boob department! I guess I should be glad that I have such wonderful milk producing breasts, but sometimes it's a real pain in the ass. For example, the other night Aedan went to sleep kinda early . . . 9:00pm . . . and I went to bed as well. Around midnight though, I was waking up to rock hard boobs and a wet shirt . . . so off I go to pump. I pumped a whopping 8 ounces before heading back to bed. I already have a freezer full of milk and the little guy isn't even 2 months old!
Aedan is growing and we are guessing his weight to be around 12 1/2 pounds. Since we don't have a scale at home which we can put Aedan on to weigh him, we use the "subtraction method." First I stand on the scale with Aedan in my arms, then I stand on it without him (a number I hate seeing). Then we subtract to get a "guess-timate" of how much the little guy weighs!
I'm really looking forward to the next few months of discovery and watching Aedan take in the world around him. He has changed so much already I can only imagine what is next!
I hope to post some pictures on here later today!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
One Month Old!
I’m tired . . . no, not just tired, DEAD ZOMBIE TIRED! My little guy is one month old and has successfully deprived me of so much sleep that I feel like a walking zombie (and for that matter, I usually look like one as well!) Don’t get me wrong, Baby Aedan has brought so much joy into our lives, he has blessed us and is a wonderful addition to our little family . . . BUT . . . he doesn’t like to sleep at night! I should have known! When I was pregnant with him, he was the most active at night when I was trying to sleep. He kept me awake then, why should it be any different now!
I think my husband has developed a newfound respect for me, or at least he seems to be a bit in awe of my “newborn mothering” skills. He has made comments on several occasions that sound like this, “I don’t know how you did this when you were 21” and “How did you do this on your own with Tyler.” My response has been- there is no other choice! Even on the most sleep deprived day I still have to put one foot in front of the other and function, even if it appears to be in a zombie-like trance!
Our little guy is up an average 2-3 times per night, and when he is up, he isn’t very fond of going back to sleep right away. Little Aedan has been sleeping in our room thanks to a bassinet that is on loan from my friend Lindsay. But when he awakens in the middle of the night I take him out of the room so I don’t disrupt my husbands slumber (too much). Many nights I end up staying on the couch after that first initial awakening, simply because little Aedan does not particularly want to go back to bed. I’ve learned that there are some great re-runs on in the middle of the night, but that at 5:00am everything and it seems to really be EVERYTHING turns to info-mercials! WHY is this???? I have no desire to see the latest and greatest gadget on sale for 3 easy payments of 19.95!
Not only do I have to be the mother to this precious little newborn, but I also have to keep up with my very active 7 year old, which exhausts me even more. That whole “sleep when the baby” sleeps advice is no good when you have more than one child at home! I would love to sleep when the baby sleeps, but how do you do that when your 7 year old is begging for your attention! I feel incredibly bad some days. Because I am so sleep deprived, my temper is short, and I often snap at poor Tyler. The one good thing – the weather has been pretty nice and Tyler has been able to go outdoors and play with the 2 children who live relatively nearby.
I have to tell you though; I love the fact that I currently have boobs! It has to be one of the nicest and best “perks” of motherhood! I finally broke down and went to Target to purchase some nursing bras . . . I had to buy 34C!!!!! I’ve never been a C-cup in my life! I know it is a short-lived luxury, so I am trying to enjoy it while I can! After I quit nursing with Tyler my boobs shrunk to a smaller size then they were before I was preggo with him! I’m just waiting for the same to happen this time around . . . I fear that I will end up an AA!
I think my husband has developed a newfound respect for me, or at least he seems to be a bit in awe of my “newborn mothering” skills. He has made comments on several occasions that sound like this, “I don’t know how you did this when you were 21” and “How did you do this on your own with Tyler.” My response has been- there is no other choice! Even on the most sleep deprived day I still have to put one foot in front of the other and function, even if it appears to be in a zombie-like trance!
Our little guy is up an average 2-3 times per night, and when he is up, he isn’t very fond of going back to sleep right away. Little Aedan has been sleeping in our room thanks to a bassinet that is on loan from my friend Lindsay. But when he awakens in the middle of the night I take him out of the room so I don’t disrupt my husbands slumber (too much). Many nights I end up staying on the couch after that first initial awakening, simply because little Aedan does not particularly want to go back to bed. I’ve learned that there are some great re-runs on in the middle of the night, but that at 5:00am everything and it seems to really be EVERYTHING turns to info-mercials! WHY is this???? I have no desire to see the latest and greatest gadget on sale for 3 easy payments of 19.95!
Not only do I have to be the mother to this precious little newborn, but I also have to keep up with my very active 7 year old, which exhausts me even more. That whole “sleep when the baby” sleeps advice is no good when you have more than one child at home! I would love to sleep when the baby sleeps, but how do you do that when your 7 year old is begging for your attention! I feel incredibly bad some days. Because I am so sleep deprived, my temper is short, and I often snap at poor Tyler. The one good thing – the weather has been pretty nice and Tyler has been able to go outdoors and play with the 2 children who live relatively nearby.
I have to tell you though; I love the fact that I currently have boobs! It has to be one of the nicest and best “perks” of motherhood! I finally broke down and went to Target to purchase some nursing bras . . . I had to buy 34C!!!!! I’ve never been a C-cup in my life! I know it is a short-lived luxury, so I am trying to enjoy it while I can! After I quit nursing with Tyler my boobs shrunk to a smaller size then they were before I was preggo with him! I’m just waiting for the same to happen this time around . . . I fear that I will end up an AA!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Birth Day! April 15th, 2008
I know, I know . . . it’s been ages since I have written! Well, baby Aedan is finally here! He was born on April 15th at 12:52pm. He weighed 8lbs 8.2oz and was 22 inches long. Everything with the delivery went VERY well and smoothly, mostly because of the fact I ended up being induced. And let me just tell you . . . since his arrival, I’ve become thoroughly sleep deprived beyond belief! But first, let me give you the play by play of delivery!
Monday, April 14th. I woke up and went through the morning routine as normal, got Tyler off to school and then headed for the shower. After getting undressed and as I was standing the bathroom preparing to get in the shower, I had some leakage of fluid. Not sure what it was, I thought possibly that my water could have broken, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure because it wasn’t anything like I was told it would be (no gush, no continuous “trickle” of fluid). So I got ready for work. When I got to work, I told my mom what happened and she encouraged me to call the Doctor, since by this point I was thinking, “random leakage” of something . . . but not my water breaking. So I called the Doctor and they gave me orders to go home and rest and to call them back later in the day to give an updated report on whether I had any more fluid leakage. To make a long story short, I ended up going into the Doctor’s office around 3:30, just to be checked out and to make sure all was well.
At the Doctor’s office, I was checked out and it was determined that my water hadn’t broken, HOWEVER when she checked my cervix it turns out I was 5-6 cm dilated and 90% effaced. The midwife I was being examined by was stunned, “You aren’t having any contractions?” “Nope,” I said, “at least not any that have become regular and consistent.” By this point I had been have random contractions for a couple of weeks or longer, but no real labor. It was starting to REALLY get on my nerves! Anyway, the midwife, became concerned. “you are so close to delivery now, that if you did go into labor, I’m not sure you would make it to the hospital, which concerns me.” Ha ha ha, I thought, just my luck. The midwife excused herself from the room and said she would be right back. After a few minutes, she came in and said, “how about we give you another option.” I was like, “yeah, sure, what?” “How would you feel about being induced?” I was like, “that is the best news I have EVER heard!” So she said, “be at the hospital at 7:00am tomorrow, they are expecting you.” So, I left the Doctor’s office happier than a pig in shit and VERY ready to have our baby!
Tuesday, April 15th. I get up early, take a shower, get my husband up, get my son Tyler up and dressed for school (His Pappy would have to be in charge of getting him on the bus). But we made sure to give him extra kisses and hugs and told him that by the time he got home from school, he would be a Big Brother! We grab my bags, the camera and jump in the car for the hospital. I was feeling a little nervous, but more relieved that in a few hours, pregnancy was going to be behind me! We (Eric, my Mom and me) get to the hospital and head to the maternity ward, where we check in and get settled into our room. We flip on the TV and I change into the dreaded and not-so-flattering hospital gown. My nurse comes in and introduces herself and she begins to get me “hooked” up to all the necessary machines. We are all so relaxed and calm, since I wasn’t in labor, there was no pressure, no pain, nothing. Eventually the midwife comes in, “So, you want your tubes tied, right.” “Ummmmmmmmm NOOOOO!” I said. “Oh, well you are Mrs. Walker right.” “Yes.” Luckily, my nurse came to the rescue, “there’s another Mrs. Walker on this floor.” “Oh, ooops, sorry,” replies the midwife, “I’ll be back shortly!” So again we wait. I discuss getting an epidural with the nurse, my concern was that an epidural would slow down progress, and since I didn’t have one the first time around (I had Tyler au-natural) I was prepared to go that way again. The nurse said, “Nah, it won’t slow anything down, if it does start to impact the progress, we’ll just up the amount of the drug we give you to induce.” So I decide to go with an epidural, I’m a little scared, since this is new territory for me, but I’m willing to do anything to make this experience pleasant!
Around 9:30, I think, the midwife comes in and breaks my water, I have a ton of fluid and it just keeps coming and coming, the midwife was impressed with how much fluid I had, especially because at one point they thought I didn’t have enough. With my water broken, I finally start to have contractions! Nothing painful, more discomforting, but totally bearable. I’m told that I’ll get the epidural shortly, now that “labor” has started. A little while later, I get the epidural. Eric takes a walk at this point (he doesn’t like needles), so it’s just me and my mom. As I sit up on the edge of the bed, I’m still gushing fluid, it’s on the floor, and just basically everywhere. It’s actually kind of humorous. My mom gives me support and lets me hold her hand, which I squeeze the shit of, and the epidural is over in a matter of minutes (and about 4 needles later, so I’m told). The medicine begins to kick in, and I start to feel the effects. A total relaxation falls over my body, and an ENORMOUS uncontrollable itch (a side effect). I begin to scratch and dig at the skin on my body, but it’s an itch you cannot scratch. Despite the constant itchy feeling, I decide I really like the epidural and exclaim how much I wish I had felt like this for the last few months, then I could have possibly gotten some sleep!
The epidural is great, I couldn’t feel any contractions, I had to be told they were happening. And so we just sat there together hanging out and watching TV. Around 12:00 the nurse checks my cervix, “almost there, you’ll have a baby 1:00.” I am beyond excited now, I can’t feel a thing, and in about an hour, I’m going to get to meet my baby! The midwife comes in and she pulls up a chair and joins in as we watch are watching the Tyra Banks Show. Finally, it’s determined that it is time for me to push. I had a little difficult with this. When I had Tyler, I had no drugs, I could feel EVERYTHING. With him, my body said “it’s time to push” and I just went with it because it was impossible not to. This time however was completely different. Since I couldn’t feel my contractions, I had no idea when to push, so the nurse had to tell me when to start and stop. I couldn’t even tell if I was pushing correctly or not, and it took me a few tries and some coaching from my nurse to get the hang of it. Once I did though, the pain started. Minor pain, when compared to having Tyler, but still enough pain to make me cry. But, with the encouragement of everyone around me, things went rather quickly. And soon there was that huge relief and release of pressure when baby Aedan made his debut!
Daddy cut the cord, Mommy cried (from relief and happiness) and then it was time to deliver the placenta and finally put me back together! The little guy did some damage as he was coming down the birth canal. He decided to descend with his fist under his chin. So, I ended up with quite a few stitches. After all was said and done, we started the round of calls and texts to friends and family. Big Brother Tyler came to visit us in the hospital and was very excited to meet his new little brother! We had a few other visitors that day, but by evening, things had gotten quiet. I sent Tyler and Eric home to get rest and Aedan and I settled in for our first night together!
Monday, April 14th. I woke up and went through the morning routine as normal, got Tyler off to school and then headed for the shower. After getting undressed and as I was standing the bathroom preparing to get in the shower, I had some leakage of fluid. Not sure what it was, I thought possibly that my water could have broken, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure because it wasn’t anything like I was told it would be (no gush, no continuous “trickle” of fluid). So I got ready for work. When I got to work, I told my mom what happened and she encouraged me to call the Doctor, since by this point I was thinking, “random leakage” of something . . . but not my water breaking. So I called the Doctor and they gave me orders to go home and rest and to call them back later in the day to give an updated report on whether I had any more fluid leakage. To make a long story short, I ended up going into the Doctor’s office around 3:30, just to be checked out and to make sure all was well.
At the Doctor’s office, I was checked out and it was determined that my water hadn’t broken, HOWEVER when she checked my cervix it turns out I was 5-6 cm dilated and 90% effaced. The midwife I was being examined by was stunned, “You aren’t having any contractions?” “Nope,” I said, “at least not any that have become regular and consistent.” By this point I had been have random contractions for a couple of weeks or longer, but no real labor. It was starting to REALLY get on my nerves! Anyway, the midwife, became concerned. “you are so close to delivery now, that if you did go into labor, I’m not sure you would make it to the hospital, which concerns me.” Ha ha ha, I thought, just my luck. The midwife excused herself from the room and said she would be right back. After a few minutes, she came in and said, “how about we give you another option.” I was like, “yeah, sure, what?” “How would you feel about being induced?” I was like, “that is the best news I have EVER heard!” So she said, “be at the hospital at 7:00am tomorrow, they are expecting you.” So, I left the Doctor’s office happier than a pig in shit and VERY ready to have our baby!
Tuesday, April 15th. I get up early, take a shower, get my husband up, get my son Tyler up and dressed for school (His Pappy would have to be in charge of getting him on the bus). But we made sure to give him extra kisses and hugs and told him that by the time he got home from school, he would be a Big Brother! We grab my bags, the camera and jump in the car for the hospital. I was feeling a little nervous, but more relieved that in a few hours, pregnancy was going to be behind me! We (Eric, my Mom and me) get to the hospital and head to the maternity ward, where we check in and get settled into our room. We flip on the TV and I change into the dreaded and not-so-flattering hospital gown. My nurse comes in and introduces herself and she begins to get me “hooked” up to all the necessary machines. We are all so relaxed and calm, since I wasn’t in labor, there was no pressure, no pain, nothing. Eventually the midwife comes in, “So, you want your tubes tied, right.” “Ummmmmmmmm NOOOOO!” I said. “Oh, well you are Mrs. Walker right.” “Yes.” Luckily, my nurse came to the rescue, “there’s another Mrs. Walker on this floor.” “Oh, ooops, sorry,” replies the midwife, “I’ll be back shortly!” So again we wait. I discuss getting an epidural with the nurse, my concern was that an epidural would slow down progress, and since I didn’t have one the first time around (I had Tyler au-natural) I was prepared to go that way again. The nurse said, “Nah, it won’t slow anything down, if it does start to impact the progress, we’ll just up the amount of the drug we give you to induce.” So I decide to go with an epidural, I’m a little scared, since this is new territory for me, but I’m willing to do anything to make this experience pleasant!
Around 9:30, I think, the midwife comes in and breaks my water, I have a ton of fluid and it just keeps coming and coming, the midwife was impressed with how much fluid I had, especially because at one point they thought I didn’t have enough. With my water broken, I finally start to have contractions! Nothing painful, more discomforting, but totally bearable. I’m told that I’ll get the epidural shortly, now that “labor” has started. A little while later, I get the epidural. Eric takes a walk at this point (he doesn’t like needles), so it’s just me and my mom. As I sit up on the edge of the bed, I’m still gushing fluid, it’s on the floor, and just basically everywhere. It’s actually kind of humorous. My mom gives me support and lets me hold her hand, which I squeeze the shit of, and the epidural is over in a matter of minutes (and about 4 needles later, so I’m told). The medicine begins to kick in, and I start to feel the effects. A total relaxation falls over my body, and an ENORMOUS uncontrollable itch (a side effect). I begin to scratch and dig at the skin on my body, but it’s an itch you cannot scratch. Despite the constant itchy feeling, I decide I really like the epidural and exclaim how much I wish I had felt like this for the last few months, then I could have possibly gotten some sleep!
The epidural is great, I couldn’t feel any contractions, I had to be told they were happening. And so we just sat there together hanging out and watching TV. Around 12:00 the nurse checks my cervix, “almost there, you’ll have a baby 1:00.” I am beyond excited now, I can’t feel a thing, and in about an hour, I’m going to get to meet my baby! The midwife comes in and she pulls up a chair and joins in as we watch are watching the Tyra Banks Show. Finally, it’s determined that it is time for me to push. I had a little difficult with this. When I had Tyler, I had no drugs, I could feel EVERYTHING. With him, my body said “it’s time to push” and I just went with it because it was impossible not to. This time however was completely different. Since I couldn’t feel my contractions, I had no idea when to push, so the nurse had to tell me when to start and stop. I couldn’t even tell if I was pushing correctly or not, and it took me a few tries and some coaching from my nurse to get the hang of it. Once I did though, the pain started. Minor pain, when compared to having Tyler, but still enough pain to make me cry. But, with the encouragement of everyone around me, things went rather quickly. And soon there was that huge relief and release of pressure when baby Aedan made his debut!
Daddy cut the cord, Mommy cried (from relief and happiness) and then it was time to deliver the placenta and finally put me back together! The little guy did some damage as he was coming down the birth canal. He decided to descend with his fist under his chin. So, I ended up with quite a few stitches. After all was said and done, we started the round of calls and texts to friends and family. Big Brother Tyler came to visit us in the hospital and was very excited to meet his new little brother! We had a few other visitors that day, but by evening, things had gotten quiet. I sent Tyler and Eric home to get rest and Aedan and I settled in for our first night together!
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