Today was John's due date. I can't believe I could still be pregnant today! I'm so glad he came early, I can't imagine still being pregnant.
We took John to the pediatrician for his 2 week check up today. I was so interested to see how much he weighed, since he is visibly bigger in his carseat and swing, feels much heavier, and is outgrowing one brand of newborn diapers. So today, two weeks after birth at 7 pounds 1 ounce, he now weighs 9 pounds 1 ounce! Crazy!!!! I can't believe he gained that much weight already. He is very healthy and doing great.
I think that my slight smug-mommy attitude about John's sleeping schedule is coming back to haunt me a little bit. (Any mommy reading this blog was probably laughing at me and saying "just wait!") The last two nights have been really rough for John, he is very fussy and his little tummy is hurting. He's been sleeping in one- and two-hour spurts, and screaming hysterically in between. It is so hard to see him crying like that. He is soothed when I pick him up, though, so I'm glad that something works. I think we are going to try giving him some gas-relief drops tonight, I hope that helps his tummy.
So I guess I've learned that when you're a new parent, you can't really count on anything. Something that soothes him one day won't work the next day. His schedule might change daily, and you just have to roll with it, because this roller coaster is your life! :)
Andy went back to work this week, he started at Google Tempe on Monday. I think he is enjoying himself so far, it's a great position. He's going to take another week off next week, since his parents are moving here and they (and Dave) will be here all next week. After that, he will still have 4 weeks of paternity leave to use before John's first birthday. Google is awesome.
John and I are doing all right at home together. The carseat is still too heavy and awkward for me, so the few times I've needed to go somewhere, my mom comes over and we all head out together. Physically, I am nicely recovering. I'm off the big pain meds and just on lots of ibuprofen now. I'm not back to full activity, obviously, I still have to take it easy, but definitely feeling physically better. Emotionally it's still a bit up and down, which I attribute to the stupid hormones and lack of sleep!!! :) I've been trying to keep up in terms of errands and housework, perhaps too much. Tomorrow I'm going to just take the day off and sleep when John sleeps, which I'm hoping will help me out.
It has been kind of a rough couple of days, but hopefully things will get better. And it doesn't really matter when I see John's little face sleeping happily!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Together again!
I am feeling MUCH better! Monday night I had had it with sleeping on the couch, so Andy, Ollie and I moved to the guest bedroom, which has a lower bed that is easier to get in and out of. It was so nice to be together again, especially with Andy being out of town right up until the birth.
John slept in his room, which is right next door to the guest room. Here are some pictures of the finished nursery:
I have been feeling A LOT better every day. I have to admit I was skeptical about the second week after the birth being some sort of miracle week, but there have been huge improvements every day. Last night I slept flat on the bed on my side for the first time in two weeks; I can't begin to tell you how amazingly good that felt! Andy and I have also been getting out a bit, going to lunch, visiting my parents, etc., which has been really beneficial psychologically. I feel much more human!
I've lost 20 pounds, which I love. Still some to go, but I am still pretty swollen so I hope that a little bit more will melt off before I have to start working for it. :)
I had my two-week doctors appointment yesterday and it looks like everything is healing up nicely. It was also nice to hear the doctor say that I am right on track as far as recovery goes; it helps to hear a medical professional tell you that you're not just being a wuss! :)
Andy is going back to work on Monday, so my mom is going to help out if I need to go somewhere. I'm cleared to drive, but lifting John's carseat into the middle of the backseat of the truck might be a little more than I can handle. But then again, if next week is as good as this week, maybe I'll be all better!
John is doing great. Still eating like a champ, sleeping at least 3 hours at a stretch, and spending increasingly long periods of time awake after his feedings. I just love to sing to him and see his big blue eyes staring back at me! His cheeks are getting chubbier so I think we will find that he weighs a bit more at his next doctors appointment on Wednesday (his due date!)
John slept in his room, which is right next door to the guest room. Here are some pictures of the finished nursery:
I have been feeling A LOT better every day. I have to admit I was skeptical about the second week after the birth being some sort of miracle week, but there have been huge improvements every day. Last night I slept flat on the bed on my side for the first time in two weeks; I can't begin to tell you how amazingly good that felt! Andy and I have also been getting out a bit, going to lunch, visiting my parents, etc., which has been really beneficial psychologically. I feel much more human!
I've lost 20 pounds, which I love. Still some to go, but I am still pretty swollen so I hope that a little bit more will melt off before I have to start working for it. :)
I had my two-week doctors appointment yesterday and it looks like everything is healing up nicely. It was also nice to hear the doctor say that I am right on track as far as recovery goes; it helps to hear a medical professional tell you that you're not just being a wuss! :)
Andy is going back to work on Monday, so my mom is going to help out if I need to go somewhere. I'm cleared to drive, but lifting John's carseat into the middle of the backseat of the truck might be a little more than I can handle. But then again, if next week is as good as this week, maybe I'll be all better!
John is doing great. Still eating like a champ, sleeping at least 3 hours at a stretch, and spending increasingly long periods of time awake after his feedings. I just love to sing to him and see his big blue eyes staring back at me! His cheeks are getting chubbier so I think we will find that he weighs a bit more at his next doctors appointment on Wednesday (his due date!)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Stats
- We've been waking John up to eat every three hours during the day. Our nurses suggested this, so that he can go for up to 5 hours without feedings at night. Well, last night John went for 5 hours without needing to eat! If only he hadn't had 2 dirty diapers during that time...Then in the second half of the night, he slept straight for four hours. Our scheduling is working!
- He's also been staying awake more often during the day, sometimes up to an hour after a couple of his feedings.
- John had a doctor's appointment Wednesday, and he is only 3 ounces down from his birth weight, which is excellent!
- Speaking of weight, I've lost 5 pounds in 2 days, for a total of 17 pounds in 8 days! And my feet, legs and hands are still really swollen, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of the same! Quite a treat after watching the scale going the other way for the last nine months! :)
- He's also been staying awake more often during the day, sometimes up to an hour after a couple of his feedings.
- John had a doctor's appointment Wednesday, and he is only 3 ounces down from his birth weight, which is excellent!
- Speaking of weight, I've lost 5 pounds in 2 days, for a total of 17 pounds in 8 days! And my feet, legs and hands are still really swollen, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of the same! Quite a treat after watching the scale going the other way for the last nine months! :)
Friday, May 9, 2008
John's first week home
We've had a great first week. John is one week old today and is adapting to life at home very well.
At the moment we have him on a pretty good schedule, though we know this can change at any time! During the day, we wake him up to eat every 3 hours, so that at night, he only wakes himself up every 3 hours. That translates to about 2.5 hours of sleep at a time, which from what I understand is not too bad. Of course, I shouldn't say how good or bad it is, as Andy is the one getting up with him...
As I mentioned, I had a c-section delivery. I'm really surprised at how much the c-section takes its toll on you physically. So far, I've been pretty out of commission when it comes to taking care of John. I can feed him, but pretty much everything else is difficult. It's hard to bend over to change his diaper or put him in his bassinet, since that's right where my incision is. I can't even sleep in bed yet because I can't use my abs to lift myself up from a lying position, so I've been sitting up on the couch for a few nights now. The good news is, I'm feeling better every day and I hope that by the end of next week, things will be more normal for me, physically at least.
My favorite time is right after John eats, when one of two things will happen. Either he stays awake and just stares into my eyes for about 15 minutes, or he falls asleep and gives a series of cute little grins and smiles.
Ollie has taken to John really well. He usually stays as close to him as possible. If John is napping in his infant chair and gives a little fussy cry, Ollie will go investigate. He'll sniff the chair, and come to me as though to make sure I know that the baby cried. It's adorable. He'll also get up on his back paws to try to peer into the Pack-and-Play to watch John sleep. Ollie is such a good little nanny! :)
Honestly, overall we're doing great! John is a sweet baby and we are lucky that both of us are able to be home with him right now. We are really happy!
At the moment we have him on a pretty good schedule, though we know this can change at any time! During the day, we wake him up to eat every 3 hours, so that at night, he only wakes himself up every 3 hours. That translates to about 2.5 hours of sleep at a time, which from what I understand is not too bad. Of course, I shouldn't say how good or bad it is, as Andy is the one getting up with him...
As I mentioned, I had a c-section delivery. I'm really surprised at how much the c-section takes its toll on you physically. So far, I've been pretty out of commission when it comes to taking care of John. I can feed him, but pretty much everything else is difficult. It's hard to bend over to change his diaper or put him in his bassinet, since that's right where my incision is. I can't even sleep in bed yet because I can't use my abs to lift myself up from a lying position, so I've been sitting up on the couch for a few nights now. The good news is, I'm feeling better every day and I hope that by the end of next week, things will be more normal for me, physically at least.
My favorite time is right after John eats, when one of two things will happen. Either he stays awake and just stares into my eyes for about 15 minutes, or he falls asleep and gives a series of cute little grins and smiles.
Ollie has taken to John really well. He usually stays as close to him as possible. If John is napping in his infant chair and gives a little fussy cry, Ollie will go investigate. He'll sniff the chair, and come to me as though to make sure I know that the baby cried. It's adorable. He'll also get up on his back paws to try to peer into the Pack-and-Play to watch John sleep. Ollie is such a good little nanny! :)
Honestly, overall we're doing great! John is a sweet baby and we are lucky that both of us are able to be home with him right now. We are really happy!
Our son is here!
John Christopher Will was born May 2, 2008 at 1:25 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 1/4 inches. He was almost 3 weeks early.
Some labor details: My water broke in the middle of the night, around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, April 1. Andy had been in the San Jose area training for his new job with Google. He hadn't been scheduled to return home until Friday night. But I had an ultrasound on Wednesday that indicated some possible problems with my labor, so we agreed he needed to come home early so that he could be with me for my doctor's appointment on Thursday.
But I guess our little guy didn't want to wait! We checked into the hospital around 5:15. I started off doing well, but labor stalled out a few times, requiring me to get pitocin (and therefore an epidural). As labor went on, the baby was in distress, and labor was going nowhere. Finally, after 21 hours of labor (including 2 hours of pushing), the doctor told us that despite all of my hard work, the baby was stuck behind the pelvic bone, and wasn't able to pass through. So at that point I had to get a c-section.
I was disappointed to have a c-section for many reasons. First of all, I was scared to death, as I've never had surgery before. Also, I had been looking forward to holding my baby immediately, and going home after a relatively short hospital stay. But overall, I just wanted to have a healthy and happy baby.
And that's what we got! We are so thankful that our little boy is healthy and beautiful! I was in the hospital until Monday afternoon, and we've been home ever since. It's great to be home together as a family!
Some labor details: My water broke in the middle of the night, around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, April 1. Andy had been in the San Jose area training for his new job with Google. He hadn't been scheduled to return home until Friday night. But I had an ultrasound on Wednesday that indicated some possible problems with my labor, so we agreed he needed to come home early so that he could be with me for my doctor's appointment on Thursday.
But I guess our little guy didn't want to wait! We checked into the hospital around 5:15. I started off doing well, but labor stalled out a few times, requiring me to get pitocin (and therefore an epidural). As labor went on, the baby was in distress, and labor was going nowhere. Finally, after 21 hours of labor (including 2 hours of pushing), the doctor told us that despite all of my hard work, the baby was stuck behind the pelvic bone, and wasn't able to pass through. So at that point I had to get a c-section.
I was disappointed to have a c-section for many reasons. First of all, I was scared to death, as I've never had surgery before. Also, I had been looking forward to holding my baby immediately, and going home after a relatively short hospital stay. But overall, I just wanted to have a healthy and happy baby.
And that's what we got! We are so thankful that our little boy is healthy and beautiful! I was in the hospital until Monday afternoon, and we've been home ever since. It's great to be home together as a family!
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