Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Immunize Me

For the past week I've been dreading taking Camden to his first doctor's visit where he has to get a lot of shots. I've heard that babies tend to get fever, feed more, cry more, fuss more. I'll be honest when I tell you that I really needed Brad there; for me and for Cam.

Two of his three boo-boo's. =(

All went well at his two-month checkup yesterday. He was 50th percentile for head size and weight. He was 75th percentile (no surprise there) for height. He was 12lbs, 2 oz and 23 3/8 inches!! Way to go big boy!!

I'm so proud of the way he's been feeding, sleeping, and his demeanor. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world! He did cry when he got his three shots, but quickly fell asleep and has been great so far (knock on wood). :) I just hope that he doesn't sleep the day away and stay up all night.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Breathable Bumper, FTW

Everyone (doctor's, pediatrician's, friends with kids, etc) recommend that there be no bumpers, toys, loose blankets or anything of the sort inside of an infant's crib before they are old enough. These items are a choking/death hazard and while the advice shouldn't be taken lightly, I still think it's not entirely realistic.

Yeah, I'm one of those moms who "follows the rules" and does what I'm told to do (to the T, usually). So of course I call my pediatrician for just about everything. Infant poop is our number one topic usually. :) SO anyways...

Camden likes to wiggle around in his crib which we had nothing in but a fitted mattress sheet. Once he became "mobile" he ended up wiggling towards the edge of the crib and getting his arms "stuck" (he thought they were stuck). The nurse recommended I get a breathable bumper for the crib, which I had heard of before.


So that is how I typically find my son in the middle of the night and each morning. Either that or completely perpendicular to where I put him. I'd like to video tape it one night to see just how he manages to get so far away from his original spot, especially considering he can't roll yet.

Well this breathable bumper is amazing. He can still breathe with his face pressed right up against it. It does unfortunately wake him up sooner, but hey I still get plenty of sleep. I used to think 4-6 hours was great but now I get 8-9 hours! This kid just keeps on being more and more amazing!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

A Labor Story

(Repost from early July)

Now that it's been a week with the little one, I figured I might try to update a bit. It's such a different experience; something you don't quite expect. We planned this pregnancy and we were really excited about becoming parents, but we had no idea what we had signed up for until he was here. It's both the hardest and most rewarding thing we've ever done. I love every second of it (except maybe the sleep deprivation).

How it happened:

I spent the day last Wednesday, June 29th just running a bunch of errands. I went to visit my great grandma who isn't doing so well, went to a friends house to buy some of her sons clothes he doesn't wear anymore, etc. I finally got home around 4:00pm and laid down for a nap. I honestly don't know if I was asleep when it happened or it happened right as I was waking up. My water broke while I was laying in bed. Luckily it was such a different (read: gross) experience that I knew exactly what it was and ran to the bathroom.

I called my husband who was at the gym to come home and that my water broke. He rushed home and we headed to the hospital. One thing people never tell you is that when your water breaks, it doesn't stop. Joy.


 Anyways we made it to the hospital and they admitted me right away since it was obvious that my water was broken; aka it looked like I'd peed my pants. So then I got an IV and pitocin to help jump start contractions since it was a few hours and I felt nothing. Then finally at 10:45pm I felt some hard contractions and I asked for the epidural at 11:00pm.

I slept a little after getting the epidural. If anyone wants to know what it feels like, it feels exactly like you just went to the dentist. When you get a filling and they numb your mouth and you feel like you have chipmunk cheeks, that's it. My entire lower half felt just like that! I could feel my legs but I didn't feel pain... thankfully.

So it finally came time to push the next morning around 9:35am. I pushed for 2.5 hours and Camden Ryan finally came. He had no meconium so they were able to put him right on my chest. I had no idea I could ever feel the way I did when I saw his face, but it's something I just can't describe. I loved it. I forgot about every pregnancy woe, painful day, complaints of sore feet. I was focused on this little amazing human that just was in my belly seconds before.


Yeah, we both balled like babies. He was ours. Something we made together. Someone we will love and cherish for the rest of our days. We were now fully responsible for this tiny 8 pound, 7 ounce baby. We were in such shock and awe that we forgot to have Brad cut the cord so they just went ahead and did it.

After a few minutes with mom, he was whisked away for measurements, cleaning and to get ankle bracelets. The whole time I was continuing to lay in the bed, I couldn't take my eyes away. I had no focus other than on him. I didn't care about the doctor stitching me up or waiting for my placenta to come out. (Nobody said childbirth was pretty.) I didn't care that the epidural was wearing off quickly. I just wanted my baby to be healthy and okay.


The two nurses I had for the last shift of my labor were amazing. They were in our room the entire 2.5 hours I was pushing. They consistently gave me feedback and encouragement so that the time really flew by. It only seemed like 30 minutes to me, really.

I thank God for the beautiful and healthy baby boy we were blessed with.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Welcome friends & family!

Welcome friends and family! We have started this blog as a way to share with everyone our journey into becoming new parents and keep everyone up-to-date with our lives. We hope you enjoy the many posts, pictures, videos and everything in between that we will be sharing with you.


This blog will contain everything family, fun, journeys, trips, sports, and everything else. One day it might be all about the baby (okay, so mostly it will be this) and another it might be some nature pictures (practicing with the new camera). We do promise to make it a habit to keep everyone informed about the happenings in our lives and most certainly all things baby!

Please do keep in mind that we are still new parents with very little time on our hands. When we do post, we promise to make it well worth the wait. =) So sit back and enjoy!