Dear Mason - 2 Months

2 Months Old

Dear Mason,

Today, you turn 2 months old! You are such a big boy and you have changed so much this past month. You now smile at us and talk to us all the time, which is so refreshing after a month of you crying! We really started to figure you out this month and learned that pretty much the root of all of your problems was that you just weren't sleeping enough. Now that we have you on a good schedule and you are taking good naps throughout the day, everyone is happier and you sleep longer at night! SCORE!

One of your favorite things is the exercise gym that Aunt Chrissy let us borrow. You especially love the red bird and the lights and music. You also still love Jacques the Peacock and your new friend is the big Caterpillar that plays "If You're Happy and You Know It". You also think it is hilarious when mommy signs along. You also love your sound machine and the raindrop noise. You sleep so much better with that noise on! Bath time, or "tubby time" as we call it is definitely one of your happiest times. You love the warm water and kick your legs and coo like crazy. Recently, you discovered that there was a mirror on your left side and you love to stare at yourself. After tubby time is when you really get going. You talk non-stop while we give you a massage and dry you off. You absolutely love to be naked, but who doesn't?!

You drink 5 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours, play for a little while, then usually sleep for 1.5-2 hours. This is your little routine and it is wonderful! Bedtime for you is around 8pm and you eat one more time around 10:30pm before you sleep for usually 5-5.5 hours straight! Mommy and daddy love you for this!

Today you went for your 2 month well baby appointment, but it turns out you weren't so well. This morning you woke up with a nasty cough and stuffy nose. It is so hard to hear you cough and struggle. Luckily, we had the doctor's appointment and she was able to check you out. Your temperature was 99.9 rectally, which is good. There really isn't much we can do for you except run the humidifier and elevate your mattress to help with your congestion. We went ahead with two of your shots and you only cried for a minute. The doctor also wanted to see how well you hold your head up when on your stomach and you rolled over onto your back for her! You are so strong! You weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces (50%) and measured 22.25 (25%) inches long.

We love you so much and enjoy watching you change and grow every day. You make us laugh so hard with your gas expulsion and the fact that you now know what your bottle is and will stare longingly at it when we burp you. I think you are getting a little too smart for us. Soon you will be balancing the checkbook and doing our taxes.

Here's to another wonderful month big man!

I don't think you're ready for this jelly.

Just a quick update - we had a nurse come visit from the local children's hospital (hey! it was free!) and she looked Mason over, weighed him, etc. He already weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces...and that was Friday! His next pediatrician appointment is on Tuesday, so I am sure he will be well over 8 pounds by then! He is just too cute and this IS getting a little easier. This breastfeeding stuff is the most difficult I think. More on that later.

I anticipate my next post to be about Mason's first bath, which was a week ago, including pictures. He actually likes his baths because he is dealing with a bit of a diaper rash. Poor guy. That's what happens when you continually poop all.day.long! Dude farts LOUD. Mom and dad are proud. There is no guess work in when he needs a diaper change.

I will be back soon with pictures and the first bath, breastfeeding stories, and my must-haves. Stay tuned and thanks for hanging in there with me!

Edit: And just because I am REALLY proud of this...I am already back down to the weight I was at my first OB appointment (which was at 6w pregnant)! Only 10 pounds to go until I am back to my goal!

Who is THIS?

I'll give you a hint. It's NOT Mason. That's right people, it's Paul circa 1977. Scary, huh? Mason did give us a big ol' gas/milk drunk grin today and guess what? He has my smile. That's something!

We are finally starting to get into the swing of things so I anticipate a little time to write a birth story soon. Sorry to make you wait. Hope everyone is well! Oh, and I will upload some photos of the big guy soon too.

First pediatrician appointment: 7lbs, 20 inches and a 35cm noggin. Jaundice is clear and he is perfect!

Appointment Update #3

38w 1d

Today's post brought to you by Natural Way to Induce Labor No. 15: Sex

Sex, the easiest thing ever to accomplish at nine months pregnant. Who's idea was THIS?

I went into today's doctor appointment ready to do one of the following: throw up, cry, bribe my doctor or blow up the place. I came out a lot happier than that. Last night I didn't get much sleep at all and ended up crying at around 5:30am and moving to a sitting-up position on the couch where I caught the majority of my sleep. Hey, at least Paul is getting practice - a crying baby waking him up at 5:30am, that's not going to change much.

Back to the appointment. My bagel is stuck at 1 cm, but the ham is making progress now and thinning out! Go ham, go!! Also, I now officially have a light at the end of this oh-so-dark tunnel of love. September 2nd. 10 days. If this boy (who is estimated to now be at 6.5-7 pounds, GAH) does not come on his own before September 2nd, I will be happily skipping my ass to the hospital that night for an induction. Still hoping for an early arrival on his own, but I will take it. That means that I longer have to cringe when I look ahead on my baby calendar and see the word "OVERDUE" because I will never make it that far. Can I get an AMEN?

Appointment Update #2

37w 1d

This morning's appointment went great. I am strep B negative (wahoo!) and dilated a full centimeter now! Go bagel, go! The doctor also informed me that she is on call at the hospital tomorrow, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hint, hint!

When she gave me the option of not having an internal I told her to go for it. Even though it doesn't mean much, it is encouraging to know that I am making some progress. Any day now would be great and she gave me the full go ahead to have this baby! Tomorrow is a full moon...hmmm.
Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday Chrissy!!

Appointment Update #1

36w 1d

Now that I go every week to my doctor appointments, Fridays will be reserved for progress reports. BL is head down (YAY!) and I am still at 1/2 centimeter (fingertip) but that is just fine with me. He needs a little while longer to cook and I think I am most excited about the head down part. The thought of an external version (I feel for you, Nancy) or even a c-section scared the crap out of me.

So now to the next item on my agenda: making progress happen. How will I do this? By walking of course! Yesterday was the zoo (more on that later) and today I am heading to the mall.

I guess it is only fair that Paul gets a progress report here too. Just before I was leaving for my appointment, Paul decided to try and catch a drinking glass that was meeting it's untimely death in the sink. He sliced his finger right on the joint and there was blood and "I think it's deep!" going on so we decided to hop on over to the 24 hour care center at our local wellness center to have it checked out and stitched up after my appointment. No stitches needed, just some goo, bandages, a tetanus shot and a splint and we were done. Oh yeah, and many threats to not have the baby there. I guess they were content with their uneventful finger cuts.

Happy Friday!

"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood."

29w 6d

Dodgeball fans? Anyone? Anyone? Alright then. I met with my registered dietitian (RD for the cool kids) today. I am officially on my second full day of testing my blood, which she wanted me to do, and when I proudly showed her my results (all perfect) and food diary over the last 2 days, she was all "HUH?! Is this how you normally eat?" and I was all, "Pretty much". She laughed, I did too (nervously) and then she pretty much flew through my "meal plan" that she set up on the spot and proceeded to tell me, "Follow this, BUT if you numbers start getting wacky, or low, just go back to what you were doing".

So it was pretty much a joke. Not that the lady wasn't nice (she was very nice) and I am not going to take this seriously (I totally am), I mean it was a joke in the sense that the hobbit that the doctor's office keep in the file room MUST have switched my results with someone else's. Alas, I am STILL a gestational diabetic, I STILL have to test my blood 4 times a day until further notice and I STILL have to be very careful in my food choices, even though I already am. The good news is that I now have a better understanding of when and how much of certain foods that I can eat - including ice cream if I so please. BUT I have to watch the portion and of course count that as my 1 carb and 1 fat for that time of day and the serving is only 1/2 cup and I should aim for low fat, sugar or fat free. Did I just lose you? Don't worry. I am not going to get into the diabetic exchanges - that would be soooo boring.

All in all, it was a good meeting. I really like my RD, she still thought I was funny, and I learned a good bit. The nerd in me can't wait to tear into my new book Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes and read all about proper portion sizes for foods. I wish it came in a pocket version.

The testing has gone well so far, except that I have to prick myself pretty deep to get a good enough blood sample, it's tons of fun. It's almost like a challenge to me though - I can't wait to see my test result pop up and tell me that I was a good girl at my last meal. He's my new buddy (the test meter), I talk to him and tell him how cute he is. He rewards me with perfect glucose levels, I kiss him goodnight and put him back in his case for a nap. The other guy in the case, Mr. Finger Pricker and his friends the lancets, I don't like them as much so I tend to ignore them and try not to piss them off.

Baby Booms and Constellations

28w 6d

Yesterday went well. The phlebotomist was able to get the first three blood draws out of my non-battered arm on the first try, then on the very last draw my vein blew so she had to go to the bruised side. She got it the first try though. She told me I would probably have a matching bruise on my right arm because the vein gave out but so far so good. Now I just have a constellation-looking pattern of needle pricks. I didn't feel queasy after drinking the orange goodness on an empty stomach, but I was soooo sleepy the entire 3.5 hours I was there. I was that creepy girl in the waiting room doing all the things I hate. I asked people coming out of the ultrasound room with yards of pictures and huge smile on their faces, "What are you having?!"
I also sat there and read my breastfeeding book with a giant picture of a woman breastfeeding her child on the cover, trying to see who squirmed when they looked at it. I had a good time. I should know by today if I am good to go or not.

Moving on, have I ever mentioned the baby boom on here? Can't remember. Well, I know a lot of people having babies. I belong to a super secret society called a message board and there are currently 7 of us that are pregnant (one JUST gave birth on Sunday to a girl). I also have a pregnant sister-in-law, and 3 friends that are expecting. So far the grand total for still-inside baby's genders is 4 girls, 6 boys and one to be determined. Penises are taking over! I wanted to take a quick minute and say CONGRATS to Mrs. Markley, an avid blog reader and grade-A comment-leaver. She is also a great friend and will make a wonderful mommy. She is the newest to join the club and finally told pretty much the world recently, which gives me the right to broadcast it on here. She is due for an outside baby around Feb. 8, 2009.

So in case you didn't get the memo, don't drink the water. Or drink it. Your choice.

Failure.

28w 4d

As I wrote last week, I had my glucose test on Friday. They told me no news was good news, so when my phone rang this afternoon with a familiar number, I was instantly disappointed. I failed, "not by much" so they told me. I decided to get the 3 hour test over with and take it tomorrow morning. The nurse wasn't very pleasant on the phone, pretty much talking to me like I was a horrible person and/or child. Yes, I get it, no eating after 8pm. I am not some ogre-like character burning through boxes of Little Debbi's all night.

So here I am, fasting until 8:15am tomorrow at which time I will show up at the doctor AGAIN and have my blood drawn AGAIN, drink the glucose drink AGAIN, then proceed to have my blood drawn every hour for the next 3 hours. Good thing I have some reading material. I think what I am most upset about are my horrible veins that refuse to show themselves when the time is right. This usually involves a lot of digging with needles for long periods of time, resulting in something that looks like this:

Basically what I am trying to tell you is that there won't be an early post tomorrow. Think of me, sitting in the lab, getting poked every hour while you are enjoying your needle free day. *tear.

Let's chat.

28w 1d

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I also had to do my glucose test today, which involved chugging a bottle of orange yumminess at 7 this morning and then getting my blood drawn at the doctor's office to see if I am at risk for gestational diabetes. Of course my veins were stupid today. Of course they had to dig around in my arm to catch one. Of course my arm now feels like it will fall off by lunchtime. Other than that, it was a fun appointment!

I normally don't ask about how much weight I have gained because I figure that if I am doing something wrong, they will tell me. I do always peek at the scale as the nurse weighs me. She always tries to be so sneaky about it, but I see the number! Today I did ask where I started and through some awesome math, I figured that I have gained about 19 pounds. That is right on track, if you want to know. The American Pregnancy Association recommends that women who are a normal weight (based on your BMI) gain 25-37 pounds during pregnancy. Overweight women gain less, underweight gain more. I was at a normal BMI index at the beginning of my pregnancy. Also very interesting is how much the baby factory weighs by the end of the pregnancy:

• 7 1/2 pounds is about how much the baby will weigh by the end of pregnancy.
• 1 1/2 pounds is how much the placenta weighs.
• 4 pounds is attributed to increased fluid volume.
• 2 pounds is the weight of the uterus.
• 2 pounds is the weight of breast tissue.
• 4 pounds is because of increased blood volume.
• 7 pounds is attributed to maternal stores of fat, protein and other nutrients.
• 2 pounds for the amniotic fluid.
• Total: 30 pounds

Of course if you are someone whose name starts with a "C" and ends with a "olleen", you would tack on another pound plus some change for the baby's weight as your estimate. Which brings me to my next thought - Notice the new little ad on the sidebar? Click on it and join in the fun! Make your guesses now for Baby Luc and I promise the winner will get some sort of fabulous prize that I have not thought of yet. Be nice with the baby's weight and length, I am hoping some good vibes will be sent to BL and he stays a 'manageable' size.

Details, Details

20w 2d

What a crazy two days it has been! Yesterday was very fun but very tiring. We had both sides of our family over last night to reveal the news and then a family issue to attend to early today. I know you are all waiting so patiently to hear about the appointment, right?

We got up early yesterday morning and headed for the doctor. To our delight, the ultrasound was first and it was so fun. Of course Paul screamed, "I just saw a wiener!" as soon as the ultrasound tech (UT) turned the thing on. The UT quickly replied with, "Come on. I have been doing this for a long time. I think I can save the best for last!". She then informed him that what he saw was the umbilical cord. Indeed it was, this time. She checked all of the boring yet important stuff out first - ovaries, uterus, placenta, fluid levels, etc. Then she began the fun stuff. We looked at his brain, organs, blood flow, heart (a mighty 150 bpm, how's that for old wives tales?), fingers (10!), toes (10!), bones, etc. He was very active as usual and tried sucking on his thumb a couple times, only to settle for some quick drinks of amniotic fluid. Yum.

After looking over all of his PERFECT little pieces-parts, it was time for the moment of truth. Paul happened to be looking at my stomach to see where the UT had the wand and he heard the UT and I start letting out cries of joy. "There it is! Oh, that is FOR SURE a boy!", said the UT. Paul snapped his head back to the screen and stood up to give out some Tiger Wood-ish punches. The best part was that once we found the penis, Baby Boy Luc immediately started playing with it. So typical. In the end, we walked out of the ultrasound room with 14 pictures total. Here are some of my favorites:

Later that evening, our families came over for food and a special cake cutting. I had filled a cake with blue filling and my dad (the birthday boy) was to cut into it so that everyone could FINALLY see what the baby was. Once he cut into it the first time and pulled out the cutter to make his next cut, it was all over. There was a streak of blue on the cake cutter and everyone knew right away! Mission accomplished.

We are so excited about this little boy and so in love with him already. He is already showing his little personality and lets me know when he likes or dislikes what I am doing. So cute! We cannot wait to meet him! Let the name debating begin!

20 weeks!

Let the countdown begin.

16w 1d

28-ish days. That's a normal month of February. Oh boy (or girl?).
We met one of the possible doctors that will be delivering the baby today and she was very very nice. We also listened to the heartbeat (like we will every appointment from now on) and the baby wasn't running around this time. He's either running out of room, or was sleeping. The BPM (beats per minute) was at 145 by the way. Perfect!

AND, drum roll please.....I gained 5 pounds!! Wahoo!! Although I did eat a rather large breakfast this morning and kept my shoes on (I usually take them off), but lets pretend that I really did gain 5 pounds, just to make my Friday happy. I never in a million years thought I would be excited to gain 5 pounds. And what a wonderful place the OB/GYN is, they actually get all excited and pat you on the back for a job well done, for gaining weight. The funny thing is, you can totally tell where every single one of those pounds are. I'll give you a hint: the baby lives there.

Have a wonderful, or shall I say Good Friday (wink,wink) everyone. I am working on a super-informative post for one of my best readers but it may not appear until Monday, so stay tuned!

"Official" NT Scan Results

Based on my age, the risk for Down's before testing was 1 in 932. After testing, the risk is 1 in 10,000.
Based on my age, the risk for Trisomy (the bad one) before testing was 1 in 1,666. After the testing, the risk is 1 in 10,000.

We feel much better now! Shirley Temples all around!

All Smiles

11w 4d

We had the NT Scan today and it went great. I have to admit I was a little nervous going into it. I haven't had any morning sickness and have been feeling pretty good lately, so I was a little worried something was wrong. As soon as the technician put the wand to my stomach, we immediately saw the baby! WOW has it grown! I feel like it was a whirlwind appointment from there on out. We got to watch the baby for a couple minutes, see the heart beating and then hearing it in all its glory at 163 bpm. The baby was wiggling all around at times, doing barrel rolls (this would make Aunt Julie very happy). We could see the spine, fingers, nose, jaw, both arms and legs. The funny part was that the baby had his legs crossed and one arm up by his head like he was just lounging and relaxing. I couldn't believe this is in me and moving all around and I can't feel it!

On to the important stuff: The tech measured the space in the back of the neck and it measured at an 11 (they like it to be below 30) so everything looks good. We still have to wait for the lab to confirm, but the doctor was very happy with our little one. What a nice man. Everyone at that office was so nice - but they are the kind of people you hope to never have to see again. I feel much better now, as does Paul. Now we just have to wait another 8 weeks until the big ultrasound (they wouldn't even look for the sex today). I will definitely post the baby's newest pictures tonight and the first belly picture of me.

Oh and PS, they had to prick my finger and squeeze blood out of me. Boo for that, but it was not bad. I thought for sure I was going to have to give more blood, but all clear!

Dragon

6w 1d

Yesterday was my first OB appointment and *boy* was it fun. First, I wrote my name like 8 million times on my charts. Then they told me to go give a urine sample in the bathroom and leave it in the tiny little cabinet. Of course I peed before I went there (I should have known better) so what came out was minuscule compared to the gallons of piss I usually have. Once we were called back, my blood pressure, height, weight were all taken. We then met with the NP Anne. She was wonderful. Such a nice lady. After that she did an exam and sent me off for blood work.

Let's get something straight right now. I have what they call 'deep veins' which ultimately means that it takes HOURS for them to find one. Okay I exaggerated a little. Get used to it. When I walked into the lab room, shaking like a leaf, I so nicely called the poor lady's chair "THE CHAIR OF DEATH" echo echo. She laughed of course and after tying the rubber band thingy so tight around my arm I thought for sure it would fall off, she got it. In ONE TRY. I was so happy. Paul was pretty happy too, he wouldn't have to hear about it all day.

Next, I waited for my ultrasound. I got really lucky that day that there was an opening. My cycles had been very long so I wasn't absolutely positive how far along I was and they needed to do an ultrasound to date me. Once I was called in, I got undressed (again) and we got started. The technician moved around looking at all my "lady" parts for a while, finding a cyst on my left ovary (totally normal after ovulation) then finally resting on my uterus. Paul and I saw the baby right away. It looked pretty much like a blob but a baby nonetheless. She pointed out the yolk sack and then she made me hold my breath. We saw the heartbeat. I can't explain how wonderful that was. I couldn't hear anything she was saying except for the word "heartbeat". Then, just as the angels finished singing and the rainbows started fading, I heard Paul say, "It's looks like a dragon". See, my husband thinks everything looks like dragons. Clouds, his cereal, OUR CHILD. This wasn't odd for me. So there I was, glowing with delight and clutching the first photo of our little dragon baby.