2010 for me was a very special year for which I consider myself one lucky girl! I started the year wondering if I'd ever experience a sticky pregnancy and here I sit with my little guy playing on his activity mat at 10.5 weeks old! My prayers and dreams were definitely answered. It is amazing to see his progress and growth every day. I am going to miss our time together as I head back to work on Monday. To celebrate the new year, we are going to do a little shopping and then hopefully sushi for dinner! I look forward to 2011 and experiencing new milestones with my Baby Dude and DH.
May 2011 be a wonderful, happy, healthy and safe year for everyone!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thankful on Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas! I am so thankful this year for my little guy and family. We visited Baby Dude's great grandmother who is 90 years old. It was so neat! And my dh's mother (grandma m) is fabulous! Baby Dude is very attached to his grandma m and I love seeing that since I barely knew my grandparents! Three passed away before or right around when I was born and the other lived far away (and was sick most of the time I knew her.) I am thankful both of our parents are very healthy! I wish we just lived closer but I know we will see them more now = ) I grew up with a very small family as both my parents are only children. I am thankful Baby Dude will have a larger family to share holiday and other experiences with. Love & kisses to my Baby Dude & DH and our families!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Baby Dude 9 week (and 2 days) Update
It has been a little while since I have posted. Things have been busy as my inlaws were here for a week helping us after my surgery and then preparing for the holidays.
* Baby Dude had his two month appt this past Monday and did very well. He gained 2# 8 oz in 4 weeks. He is in the 50th %ile for weight but only 30th for height. My family does not have any tall genes but my dh is tall. We are hoping baby dude will be tall too- time will tell =). He also had his 2 month shots and cried a little bit. Unfortunately, he ran a fever that day. The acetaminophen drops helped and it went away that evening!
* Baby Dude loves his activity gym we gave him early for Christmas! He smiles, talks to us and swats the animals hanging from above. He loves to lift his head while we carry him -- still makes me nervous as he sometimes head butts us! He is not a huge fan of tummy time -- although during he moves his legs so much!
* Baby Dude is completely on formula now. I was pumping a little to help the pressure. Yesterday was the first day I did not need to pump! He is doing well on the formula although he gets fussy when he has trouble burping! He burps easily for dh but not for me! My dh says baby dude does not want to be rude. LOL.... I wish we could have gone longer with the b/fing but I must admit night time feeding is much easier. I can feed him and get him back to sleep in 20-30 minutes. With b/fing, it took over an hour; sometimes 2 to get him back to sleep.
* Sleep is still not great, but getting better! He prefers to take power naps on our shoulders but we try to get him to nap in his pack n play as much as possible as he will not be able to nap on us at daycare. We recently transitioned him to his pack n play from his cradle. We started out with just naps for a week and then he has been sleeping in there at night for about a week now. The transition was easier than we thought. However, in his cradle, he gave us a few 5 hour stretches of sleep before my surgery but he is back to his first stretch being @ 4 hours, then his next stretch about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and then an hour as he is hungry because he usually is so sleepy he does not eat much after the second stretch. Hopefully we will get back to the 5 hour stretch again soon. Everything will change again soon though as I go back to work on the 3rd so our waking time will be earlier. Not sure how we will get him to bed earlier as by the time we get home, eat, have bath or a little time together-- it will be late. We are going need to figure this one out as we go. I hope to figure out how to get exercise back into my routine as well...not sure how yet. I am paying for a gym membership I am not using enough.
* I go back to work on the third! Boo!
* As I am no spring chicken, we have decided on the recommendation of my OB to meet with a MFM specialist at the end of January to discuss my clotting issues & a subsequent pregnancy. I would normally have said no and just discussed with my RE but he does not believe in these issues. I really like my RE but the lack of testing was a little frustrating at the same time. So I thought why not meet with another specialist to come up with a plan that I can bring to my RE. We can not ttc again until at least June due to the medication I am on but I thought I would at least start talking with a specialist so that come June we can start again as who knows how long it will take. In the meantime, I will be on the mini pill to prevent pregnancy as the medication I am on can cause birth defects if I were to get pg now. The chances are very slim of us getting pg without help but I still do not want to take any chances!
* I love Christmas. Except for the cold weather, it is my favorite holiday! I love all the decorations and the family time. This year is extra special with our little guy. Our little miracle! My Dh and I look at him & count our blessings. We continue to be amazed!!
* I have some pictures but after thinking am wondering if I should be posting them. I am like others recently wondering about how to make this a little more private. When time allows after the holidays, I may investigate this option.
Happy holidays to everyone!! I wish everyone the best. Thank you for all of your support/friendship! I feel very lucky.
* Baby Dude had his two month appt this past Monday and did very well. He gained 2# 8 oz in 4 weeks. He is in the 50th %ile for weight but only 30th for height. My family does not have any tall genes but my dh is tall. We are hoping baby dude will be tall too- time will tell =). He also had his 2 month shots and cried a little bit. Unfortunately, he ran a fever that day. The acetaminophen drops helped and it went away that evening!
* Baby Dude loves his activity gym we gave him early for Christmas! He smiles, talks to us and swats the animals hanging from above. He loves to lift his head while we carry him -- still makes me nervous as he sometimes head butts us! He is not a huge fan of tummy time -- although during he moves his legs so much!
* Baby Dude is completely on formula now. I was pumping a little to help the pressure. Yesterday was the first day I did not need to pump! He is doing well on the formula although he gets fussy when he has trouble burping! He burps easily for dh but not for me! My dh says baby dude does not want to be rude. LOL.... I wish we could have gone longer with the b/fing but I must admit night time feeding is much easier. I can feed him and get him back to sleep in 20-30 minutes. With b/fing, it took over an hour; sometimes 2 to get him back to sleep.
* Sleep is still not great, but getting better! He prefers to take power naps on our shoulders but we try to get him to nap in his pack n play as much as possible as he will not be able to nap on us at daycare. We recently transitioned him to his pack n play from his cradle. We started out with just naps for a week and then he has been sleeping in there at night for about a week now. The transition was easier than we thought. However, in his cradle, he gave us a few 5 hour stretches of sleep before my surgery but he is back to his first stretch being @ 4 hours, then his next stretch about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and then an hour as he is hungry because he usually is so sleepy he does not eat much after the second stretch. Hopefully we will get back to the 5 hour stretch again soon. Everything will change again soon though as I go back to work on the 3rd so our waking time will be earlier. Not sure how we will get him to bed earlier as by the time we get home, eat, have bath or a little time together-- it will be late. We are going need to figure this one out as we go. I hope to figure out how to get exercise back into my routine as well...not sure how yet. I am paying for a gym membership I am not using enough.
* I go back to work on the third! Boo!
* As I am no spring chicken, we have decided on the recommendation of my OB to meet with a MFM specialist at the end of January to discuss my clotting issues & a subsequent pregnancy. I would normally have said no and just discussed with my RE but he does not believe in these issues. I really like my RE but the lack of testing was a little frustrating at the same time. So I thought why not meet with another specialist to come up with a plan that I can bring to my RE. We can not ttc again until at least June due to the medication I am on but I thought I would at least start talking with a specialist so that come June we can start again as who knows how long it will take. In the meantime, I will be on the mini pill to prevent pregnancy as the medication I am on can cause birth defects if I were to get pg now. The chances are very slim of us getting pg without help but I still do not want to take any chances!
* I love Christmas. Except for the cold weather, it is my favorite holiday! I love all the decorations and the family time. This year is extra special with our little guy. Our little miracle! My Dh and I look at him & count our blessings. We continue to be amazed!!
* I have some pictures but after thinking am wondering if I should be posting them. I am like others recently wondering about how to make this a little more private. When time allows after the holidays, I may investigate this option.
Happy holidays to everyone!! I wish everyone the best. Thank you for all of your support/friendship! I feel very lucky.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Gallbladder Surgery complete!!!
I had my surgery friday morning and was home by 1pm. I am feeling well, mostly thanks to the extra strength ibuprofen. The dr gave me some stronger stuff but I have tried really hard not to take it as I am having to pump while I move to all formula. I can not give baby dude the milk if I take the stronger stuff. I was so embarrased at the hospital as I was leaking so much- I had to pump while they prepped me for surgery. So far, the ibuprofen is working. The hardest part had been not being able to hold my little guy. I have tried but it hurts after a little while. I am trying to make sure I heal so I am trying not to overdo it. My mil has been fabuluos... Baby Dude has slept in their room the last four nights. It is weird though and I actually have woken up several times. I also have had to get up to pump. I must say pumping is time consuming and for me, I do not have a great supply even when I feel so full. I do not have enough of a supply to exclusively pump even if I wanted to so I am glad we are moving to all formula. I just hope my little guy will forgive me for not holding him as much the last few days and also for moving away from nursing. As much of a struggle as it has been, in a crazy way, I missing our nursing time. But I know deep down, with the struggles/stress, formula will be the best going forward!
Baby Dude will be 8 weeks tomorrow. He is growing like crazy. I think he is a little over 11 pounds but we will officially find out at his two month appt next Monday. I am not looking foward to the immunizations that come with the appt. At least my dh will be there too.
I bought baby dude an activity gym and he loves it. He moves his arms and legs like crazy. He smiles & coos.... It is very cool. He changes his moves a little with a change in the beat. I do not want him to grow too fast but I look forward to watching him continue to learn new things.
I sent a Christmas card to our RE with a picture of our little guy, thanking him for helping to bring him into our lives. There are not enough words to really say how thankful we are!
Happy holidays!!
Baby Dude will be 8 weeks tomorrow. He is growing like crazy. I think he is a little over 11 pounds but we will officially find out at his two month appt next Monday. I am not looking foward to the immunizations that come with the appt. At least my dh will be there too.
I bought baby dude an activity gym and he loves it. He moves his arms and legs like crazy. He smiles & coos.... It is very cool. He changes his moves a little with a change in the beat. I do not want him to grow too fast but I look forward to watching him continue to learn new things.
I sent a Christmas card to our RE with a picture of our little guy, thanking him for helping to bring him into our lives. There are not enough words to really say how thankful we are!
Happy holidays!!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Decision Making Time
I have never been the best with making decisions (except at work-for some reason at work I have no problem making decisions.) However, I have decided after my surgery this coming Friday that I am done with breastfeeding. I will not be able to b/f for at least 24 hours afterwards, and will need to pump & discard during that time. I still need to decide whether or not I will continue to pump or go 100% to formula. I am leaning towards formula with going back to work in less than four weeks. I think with our struggles, making it almost eight weeks is not too bad and I have tried so much to make this work. I will not deny that I feel guilty but in the end, I think it will be the best, which is what is most important. I especially feel guily as Baby Dude likes to b/f for comfort as he always falls asleep. We have been debating about switching formulas so we just have to figure out which one is best and will minimize his gassiness / fussiness. We have our two month appt in two weeks so we can always ask then if needed.
Why is this such a hard decision to make? I know I should not feel guilty as I know formula will be ok. And i know i should not feel like a failure but i do. Maybe part of me thinks he prefers to b/f despite our struggles. I can not personally continue to struggle like we have. It stresses me out which then stresses him out. Ugh... I really wanted this to work. It is going to break my heart when he does his rooting reflex ...
((((sigh))))
Why is this such a hard decision to make? I know I should not feel guilty as I know formula will be ok. And i know i should not feel like a failure but i do. Maybe part of me thinks he prefers to b/f despite our struggles. I can not personally continue to struggle like we have. It stresses me out which then stresses him out. Ugh... I really wanted this to work. It is going to break my heart when he does his rooting reflex ...
((((sigh))))
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Gallbladder Surgery on the 10th
I am scheduled for surgery on the 10th. Met with the surgeon today. I am not 100% crazy about his personality but he comes highly recommended from my primary care dr who I love. And I am trying to get this done before my leave ends so I do not have much time to shop around. It willbe outpatient surgery so that is good. I am nervous as I have never had surgery before. Any advice with preparing for laproscopic surgery before and after? Anything you wish you has known or asked beforehand? How long was your recovery? Any advice would be great! Thank you.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Baby Dude is 6 weeks old (and other updates)
Baby Dude is 6 weeks old (and one day) today!! I can not believe it! During my leave so far, I have been addicted to the Baby Story show on TLC and it is hard for me to believe that I delivered Baby Dude 6 weeks ago! Time is flying! Baby Dude is doing well - a week ago he was 9 pounds 3 oz and growing! Since birth, Baby Dude has had a lot of eye discharge, which we were cleaning with a warm wash cloth each day. However, it seemed to be getting worse last week so we went into the drs to get some medicine. And of course the day after we went to the drs, it went away for the most part (thankfully).
Some other updates:
Baby Dude
* Baby Dude graduated to size one diapers and is now in 0-3 months clothes. Two of his newborn onesies still fit but the rest are too small.
* Baby Dude had a very nice thanksgiving weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's. He met two of his cousins for the first time! I think he liked having all the people around as he was unusually calm most of the weekend. I am probably pretty boring to him when we are home during the day now! LOL! We will be going back for Christmas so that will be nice!! And one weekend in December, we are going to visit his cousins at their new house - they live about 3 hours away.
* Baby Dude is still not sleeping well at night! He is still getting up every 2 - 3 hours (sometimes every hour.) When should I get concerned that he is not sleeping more? Any suggestions? We have his 2 month appt in 3 weeks so I will ask about it at my appt if he has not started to sleep more. He unfortunately likes to nap during the day! I try to keep him stimulated with talking, music & playing but it is hard to keep him up at times during the day. I should keep a log for the next three weeks for my appt! I am bad at documenting this stuff.
* Baby Dude still gets fussy on & off but the Happiest Baby on the Block 5 S's have been a blessing to help calm him down most of the time! Thank you for the suggestions to look into this more! Unfortunately, he is often gassy and he has a really hard time burping. He also gets hiccups quite often. We tried gripe water for the first time yesterday and it seemed to help a little. I may try again today if needed but I hope not to use it too much. Not sure if we should be trying the gas drops but I read gripe water is more natural.
Mommy
* Has a cold and some sinus troubles = ( It seems like I have gone through a whole bottle of hand sanitizer in the last few days trying to make sure that Baby Dude does not get sick too. However, Baby Dude has a stuffy nose too = (. I do have to say I feel better today compared to the past few days and I hope Baby Dude's stuffy nose gets better. I am using the Neilmed Sinus rinse for myself and it helps so much!! I recommend this very much if you have a cold/sinus troubles. I have the saline drops for Bany Dude.
* We are still breastfeeding & supplementing (as needed.) It is going a little better since the consultation but is still hard at the same time (if that makes sense.) I think I have just calmed down a little about it and am comfortable with supplementing as needed more than I was before (even thought the LC said to not supplement)-- especially now that I am on the low fat diet. I feel supplementing is a good idea because I am not eating as much as I should be. I am trying but it is hard with limited choices that are easy to make. My DH has been making me chicken for protein. And frozen veggies/rice are coming in handy - and non-fat Greek yogurt (which also has a lot of protein). These are my favorite things right now.
* Has a consult with a surgeon tomorrow to look at getting my gallbladder removed. I would like to move fast on this because I am still in some pain and also, so that I can get it done during my leave as my FMLA runs out at the end of the month. I can not afford to lose my job (as much as I would really like to be a SAHM.) A friend of mine - her husband just lost his job as he needed more than 12 weeks due to shoulder surgeries. I am not sure my company would do this but knowing my stupid manager, I would not put it past him. I am very nervous about having surgery although I have heard it is not too bad. I have never had surgery though so it is an unknown to me!
* Is very sad as I only have 4 1/2 weeks left of my maternity leave = ( I get very sad when I think about this! I wish I could be a SAHM. I am very seldom away from Baby Dude these days (only a few hours at night when I take a nap & my DH takes care of him) so it will be very hard to have him in daycare while I am working.
* Is very excited that Christmas is right around the corner! Although I dislike winter & snow when I have to drive, I love Christmas. I wish I had more time to decorate -- we are going to try to put up our tree this coming weekend!
Some other updates:
Baby Dude
* Baby Dude graduated to size one diapers and is now in 0-3 months clothes. Two of his newborn onesies still fit but the rest are too small.
* Baby Dude had a very nice thanksgiving weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's. He met two of his cousins for the first time! I think he liked having all the people around as he was unusually calm most of the weekend. I am probably pretty boring to him when we are home during the day now! LOL! We will be going back for Christmas so that will be nice!! And one weekend in December, we are going to visit his cousins at their new house - they live about 3 hours away.
* Baby Dude is still not sleeping well at night! He is still getting up every 2 - 3 hours (sometimes every hour.) When should I get concerned that he is not sleeping more? Any suggestions? We have his 2 month appt in 3 weeks so I will ask about it at my appt if he has not started to sleep more. He unfortunately likes to nap during the day! I try to keep him stimulated with talking, music & playing but it is hard to keep him up at times during the day. I should keep a log for the next three weeks for my appt! I am bad at documenting this stuff.
* Baby Dude still gets fussy on & off but the Happiest Baby on the Block 5 S's have been a blessing to help calm him down most of the time! Thank you for the suggestions to look into this more! Unfortunately, he is often gassy and he has a really hard time burping. He also gets hiccups quite often. We tried gripe water for the first time yesterday and it seemed to help a little. I may try again today if needed but I hope not to use it too much. Not sure if we should be trying the gas drops but I read gripe water is more natural.
Mommy
* Has a cold and some sinus troubles = ( It seems like I have gone through a whole bottle of hand sanitizer in the last few days trying to make sure that Baby Dude does not get sick too. However, Baby Dude has a stuffy nose too = (. I do have to say I feel better today compared to the past few days and I hope Baby Dude's stuffy nose gets better. I am using the Neilmed Sinus rinse for myself and it helps so much!! I recommend this very much if you have a cold/sinus troubles. I have the saline drops for Bany Dude.
* We are still breastfeeding & supplementing (as needed.) It is going a little better since the consultation but is still hard at the same time (if that makes sense.) I think I have just calmed down a little about it and am comfortable with supplementing as needed more than I was before (even thought the LC said to not supplement)-- especially now that I am on the low fat diet. I feel supplementing is a good idea because I am not eating as much as I should be. I am trying but it is hard with limited choices that are easy to make. My DH has been making me chicken for protein. And frozen veggies/rice are coming in handy - and non-fat Greek yogurt (which also has a lot of protein). These are my favorite things right now.
* Has a consult with a surgeon tomorrow to look at getting my gallbladder removed. I would like to move fast on this because I am still in some pain and also, so that I can get it done during my leave as my FMLA runs out at the end of the month. I can not afford to lose my job (as much as I would really like to be a SAHM.) A friend of mine - her husband just lost his job as he needed more than 12 weeks due to shoulder surgeries. I am not sure my company would do this but knowing my stupid manager, I would not put it past him. I am very nervous about having surgery although I have heard it is not too bad. I have never had surgery though so it is an unknown to me!
* Is very sad as I only have 4 1/2 weeks left of my maternity leave = ( I get very sad when I think about this! I wish I could be a SAHM. I am very seldom away from Baby Dude these days (only a few hours at night when I take a nap & my DH takes care of him) so it will be very hard to have him in daycare while I am working.
* Is very excited that Christmas is right around the corner! Although I dislike winter & snow when I have to drive, I love Christmas. I wish I had more time to decorate -- we are going to try to put up our tree this coming weekend!
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