Sunday, December 4, 2011

Soooo its about that time

Holiday cards time! I am excited to design and pick out our Christmas card this year. For so many reasons of course, but most of all because this year we have a new member of the family! It will be nice to include a baby instead of just our furbabies. I mean they are cute and photograph well, however not everyone can appreciate how important pets can be to a family, and how they were our children before we had Bman and now we feel like we have three babies. I am anxious to show off our new family, but the only problem is, how will I decide? So many designs to choose from.

We can keep it traditional and stick with some great Christmas cards or we can stay more basic and politically correct and just send greeting cards to cover all of our recipients. One thing is for sure, we will be definitely sticking with the photo cards. In case you haven't noticed, I keep sending you to the Shutterfly site. I had photo cards made last year for the holidays and they came out GREAT! The quality was great. Definitely not flimsy whatsoever so I had no qualms about mailing them out and having them arrive in good condition. Not to mention, they have a style and size to fit any family's style. I mean what better way to show off our family!

I could stay and write about Shutterfly and their products all day, but basically, you just need to go there and check it out yourself. I am on my way there now to design our Christmas card. I am actually going to get them out early enough for the recipients to get them BEFORE Christmas this year!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Newborn pictures and announcements

We had newborn pictures done. Seriously I love them all and have a hard time picking sooo I am purchasing the CD with the copyright release so I can make my own announcements. I am also pretty sure I'll use a picture or two for our Christmas cards. YES I AM ALREADY THINKING AHEAD TO CHRISTMAS! Seriously its almost Halloween people, its not that early!

Last year we did a card from Shutterfly. They came out great and we plan on doing the same thing! So many choices. See what you can make by going here! Cain't wait to see their new designs for the season!

Smiles!!!

They melt my heart! Started right around 5 weeks! Here is my photographic evidence:


One month old!

Yeah, yeah, since I was a huge blog slacker, you're getting the quick update version. Sorry, but then again, you are spared mundane details this way. Well we made it through a month! We have had some formula struggles, but we finally got one that luckily, is covered under my insurance. He was diagnosed with GERD and a milk protein allergy. We are working on getting the gassiness under control. Here are some pictures!
















So, ummm I had a baby.

I am such a slacker! It's been 8 weeks since I had a baby and I have not shared with you! But I can explain. It was not my scheduled c section that brought our B man to us. I was talked into shoe shopping by Mr. W and it turned into chaos from there.

Walking around famous footwear, at 38w 2d pregnant, exactly one week before I was scheduled to have my son, my water broke. First I reached for something and thought that I peed my pants. I thought to myself, sure, I've heard of this happening. Then I had a flash that maybe my water had broke. Nah, I probably just peed myself. So I walked over to Rob and felt another little gush. Sat down, felt another. Told him, ummmmm I may or may not have peed my pants and my water may or may not have broken. He told me to go to the bathroom and check things out. So, I stood up. Another gush. Went to the bathroom, peed as I had a very full bladder. I think I wiped 50 times to make sure I was completely dry. Stood up, another gush. I was wet again. Hmmmmmm. So, I walked out and told him, complete the purchases, I'll meet you in the car. I'm going to call my friend who had her water break out of nowhere. She told me, duuuuuh your water broke! OMG. OMFG.

So, we drove home, and I called my MW who was thankfully on call. She told me to go into L&D, they will test me to see if in fact, it was what we thought it was. Well, I got home, changed, packed some last minute things. Start brushing my teeth and Mr. W had a fit. Umm hello we had a big italian feast complete with garlic bread for dinner, who wants to have garlic bread when I might be having a baby!? So, we get to the hospital about 9:30pm. To complete the time line, my water broke at approximately 7:30pm.

Turns out, my friend was working and took me on as a patient. So, I pee again, she gets me into bed and hooked up onto the monitors and swabs me to test and see if my water had broke. In the mean time, she checks me and I am 4 cm dilated. I was also having some contractions however did not really feel them. Then the test comes back that my water broke. Now, here is where it gets interesting. My MW had told me that they don't like to perform c sections until it has been ideally 8 hours since my last meal. It had been 2 hours. So, we thought we may have to wait until almost 3am. Then someone comes back in and tells us we're getting ready and having my baby in 30 minutes. UMM WHAT!? I thought she was joking. Ummmm nope. The anesthesiologist and OB on call agreed to get it done now. So, after being prepped, insisting on walking myself to the OR complete with a catheter (wtf was I thinking!?), and hopping up on the table, I prepared for the spinal. Now at this point, my body had started to shake a bit. Nerves combined with fast flowing IV fluids that were not warm, add in a cold OR, cue body shakes. So, I was gripping my friend's shoulders while they did the spinal and did my best not to jump or move. It did not feel great, but it was done. Unfortunately though, the shakes got worse. If I did not hold onto the table or Mr. W's hand, I was violently shaking.

I will spare you every single detail, however, the c section was performed without any issues. As soon as I heard my son cry for the first time, I lost it. I cried tears of joy. I cried some more when we finally saw him all cleaned up and in Mr. W's arms. He was 6lb 10oz of pure perfection. I was instantly in love. Here are some of our first family pictures:


A happy family of 3!!! Here are some more pictures of our newly born son, Brady Easton:



My hospital stay was not so bueno. Seriously most of the nurses sucked, and I hardly got sleep. Long story short, I got almost zero breastfeeding help. I ended up quitting after a week. My poor son was not getting the hang of it, he was too hungry, and my milk didn't really fully come in. He was down to 6lb 1oz when we left the hospital and 6lb 4oz at his one week appointment. I would have been instructed to supplement had we not already switched the day before. I also developed an infection from my c section incision so that was a rough week and a half. On top of that, we had some jaundice issues that luckily came under control quickly. We also had to take him for an x-ray of his head. The pedi thought it was oddly shaped and was concerned that his sutures fused in utero which would have meant surgery on my son's head at 1 year of age. Thankfully the x-ray, although traumatizing for B, was normal.

Monday, August 29, 2011

38 weeks!


Grew again, but this time I'm not so shocked :)
And we'll do a survey I guess. I missed last week but there wasn't much to report or different so you didn't miss anything...

*How far along?: 38 weeks!

*Total weight gain: About 23lbs

*How big is baby?: As of last Thursday he is estimated to be about 7lb, 3oz.  Over 19 1/2 inches long from head to foot, about as long as a Leek.

*Sleep?: Up ever 1-2 hours to pee. I. Am. Exhausted.

*How are you feeling physically?: Starting to reach that uncomfortable in almost any way I sit stage. Laying down feels better but that doesn't work all the time. Almost there!

*How are you feeling emotionally?: Not too bitchy, but still haven't found my patience.

*Best moment this week?: Finding out how big he is, pre-registering for his big arrival next week!

*Movement?: He is still very much a mover and a shaker!

*Food cravings?: Not really craving anything, just ready to be eating what I want, when I want it, without having to worry about pricking my finger.

*Food aversions?: None!

*Labor signs?: Having some uncomfortable BH that kind of seem like practice contractions, and of course lovely lightening crotch. I swear he's going to be born holding a hot fire poker.

*What I miss: I would really love an adult beverage!

*What I'm looking forward to: Sept. 6th. Or sooner if he wants :)

Friday, August 19, 2011

Oh hello growth spurt!!

Do you see it? Here is my 36 vs. 37 week pictures, from right to left.