Two Weeks

Adventures in Parenting: Story #1

We took Andrew on our first field trip - back to the hospital to pick up his birth certificate. We completely forgot to get it while we were there, what with all the interruptions in sleep from my doctor, his doctor, nurses checking vital signs, visits from the payment lady, the chaplain, the lactation specialist, the housekeeping staff, etc. What were we thinking?

After the hospital, we decided to maximize our time out of the house and get some lunch since Andrew was sleeping so well. We were almost done with our burgers when he woke up and needed some lunch of his own. I did not have a nursing cover, but luckily had just made one the night before out of a blanket, some binder clips and a ribbon and had thrown it in my diaper bag. So I looped it over my head, got Andrew set up and nursed in public. While eating french fries. And it wasn't a big deal. No one pointed or stared or made comments. It was liberating.

Halfway through feeding him, he made a poopy diaper, so I gathered up my bag and headed to the bathroom to change him. Lesson number one: Not every restroom has a changing table. This bathroom did have a small sofa table against the wall. Something kinda like this:

So I somehow managed to lay out a blanket (I also realized I didn't own a portable changing pad. Add that to the list), grab a diaper and wipes and get Andrew laid carefully on the table that was barely wide enough to hold his squirmy little body. I got him changed into a clean diaper, dropped the dirty on one the ground, dirty side down, and miraculously got everything cleaned up and loaded back into the bag. It did make me wonder what I would have done had there not been that little table. Surely I wouldn't lay him down on the ground, or change him in the booth. Maybe the backseat of the car???

Feeling pretty proud of myself for overcoming obstacles, and knowing my husband had ordered me a chocolate milkshake, I quickly tried to wash my hands while holding a wiggly baby only to discover that he spit up all over the front of my shirt and I suddenly needed to use the restroom myself. So I sprinted out to drop off Andrew with his dad and head back to the bathroom to take care of my own needs.

I was finally rewarded with my chocolate shake, was able to zip my hoodie up over my wet t shirt, and we made it out of there alive. Ah, the adventures in parenting that are yet to come...

First Week

Happy New Year! I look forward to sharing 2012 with you!

Daddy tells me all about which football teams to root for. All of them.

It's a tough life being so cute.

The coldest day of the year, and mom decides to take naked pictures of me.

Eat, burp, sleep, cuddle mom. Repeat.

Andrew's Big Arrival

Andrew is here and it's been a busy first week of life for him. Eat, burp, sleep, cuddle. Tough life. It's been a little more hectic for Tony and I, so forgive us for taking some time before sharing photos and stories with everyone, and thank you for your patience as we learn the ropes of being new parents.

Tuesday, Dec 27th I went to the OB fully expecting to be told to head directly to the hospital. I was 40 weeks and 1 day and sooo ready to meet my son. Not so, said the Dr. No progress since the last appointment. Since I was already full-term, he gave me the option of being induced, which was not my first choice of a birth plan, but I decided to go ahead with it since we were so close to the end of the year and there was no indication that I would progress much on my own.

So we scheduled it for the next morning, took Marley to doggy camp, cleaned up around the house, made a nice dinner and settled in for a quiet night and early morning. We were all up at 4am the next morning with anticipation, and left the house at 5:30am to get to the hospital in time. We took one last maternity photo on the way out the door.

After getting checked in and set up in our room, they started the Pitocin drip at 8:30 am. By noon I had dilated to 6 cm and the Dr broke my water. Until then, we were happily watching tv, reading, and otherwise passing the time. Tony took a quick nap.

After my water broke, the contractions started coming pretty strongly and it was time to get down to business. I got an epidural, which helped make the contractions bearable, but still not so much fun. Labor moved along pretty quickly and by 6pm I was ready to push.

After a couple hours of pushing and some hard work I was rewarded with the most beautiful baby boy I could imagine. The rush of emotions was overwhelming and we were all instantly in love. After seeing all the baby went through to be delivered and how the Dr and nurses handled him, he lost his fear of holding the baby while standing and couldn't wait to hold his son.

The nurses brought me some long awaited apple juice and graham crackers (I never complained of pain during the whole process - just of being starving!). We were moved upstairs to our recovery room around 11pm and Tony and Kirsten went to get us some dinner from Checkers nearby. We feasted on burgers and fries while Andrew got used to being in the outside world.

Our stay in the hospital was nice and short, and we were sent home Friday afternoon. Since then it's been a whirlwind of diaper changes, spit ups, and pee pee fountains. We sleep when we can, and stare at our little boy as much as possible, and otherwise are enjoying learning how to be parents and care for a newborn baby. More pictures and stories to come!!

Maternity Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago Tony and I did a maternity photo shoot while staying at the hotel near campus for our 5th Anniversary. We planned to visit the botanical gardens on campus, but they closed early Saturday and we were too late. So we ended up walking around the main campus instead and used some of the more scenic spots.

I was at 34 weeks here. The belly's a little bigger these days, but my clothing options are starting to become limited, so this is probably as good as it gets. Enjoy!

A Thanksgiving at Home

Tony and I stayed here in Tampa for Thanksgiving this year, since traveling at 36 weeks pregnant is generally frowned upon. It turned out to be a wonderful decision, as we were able to spend four days at home, resting, relaxing, cooking, eating, and getting things done around the house.

My dad came to spend Thanksgiving with us and ordered a Turducken ahead of time (seems he doesn't trust me to buy a turkey - something about my past history of not following through....). So all I had to do was pop that bad boy in the oven and handle the side dishes.

A turducken is a deboned turkey, stuffed with a duck breast, a chicken breast and lots of cajun cranberry walnut stuffing. It looks like a regular turkey on the outside, but is full of surprises on the inside. Our didn't turn out as pretty as this photo, but it sure did taste good. The meat was tender and juicy and the ample amount of stuffing was delicious.

We invited some friends and neighbors to join us and had a wonderful day of food, family and football. Best of all, I spent today at church, lunch, making a big pot of chili, putting up our Christmas tree, and at home, instead of in the car stuck in traffic.

I'm thankful that I have only 4 weeks left, if everything goes according to plan, until Sir Andrew makes his big debut. My pregnancy has been easy, but it's getting harder and harder to keep up my same pace. I suppose you're not supposed to keep the same pace at this point, so I'm trying to rest and relax as much as possible.

More updates to come as they happen. Until then, love to you all!

Andrew's Nursery

My mom came to visit this weekend and helped us make lots of progress on Andrew's room. After a marathon trip to Ikea for some curtains and a few small things, we got busy putting it all together.

The curtains are fabric panels from Ikea. I had to hem all four edges, but it was worth it for custom drapes that are perfect for the room. I love the charm the stripes add to the room, and it really helps break up the white walls without being too dark.
We picked up another lantern, along with some bathroom robe hooks to hang them on. We are going to get a wooden letter A to paint red and hang above the crib. The rest of the bedding is still on back order, but we put the little plaid quilt in there for now, just to add some color and get an idea of what it will look like.
The changing table is stocked up with diapers and other goodies. I still need to get a bigger pad for the top.
Finally, Tony's rocking chair! His mom rocked him in this when he was a baby. The cushion also came from Ikea, and will help pad my butt during those late night rocking sessions. We have a plan to put an Irish blessing in that frame above the dresser.
We already have a toy box and some toys for Andrew. A good friend's mother makes these toy boxes for all the new babies and we were so excited to get this sweet gift. Another friend passed down some dino toys and dump trucks.

With just a few finishes touches left, we are excited to have this room done and ready to welcome our little boy in just a few short weeks!