2 Weeks Old

WOW! I can't believe 2 weeks have gone by.  2 weeks ago this moment (4:26pm) I was dilated 8 cm and they knew he would be here quickly.  They were pushing the last bit of antibiotics into my iv and calling my doctor.  Sometimes it feels like yesterday, yet others it feels like he's always been here.

 

 

This Week's Firsts: Cloth diaper, tear shed, coo, laugh, trip to Colton's school, trip to grandma and grandpa's, trip to to Toys R Us (if only he knew what we bought), and tummy time.

 

Best Moment: When I pick him up and he stops crying. It is so hard to choose, I love every single moment with him.

 

Cutest Moment: When he laughed in his sleep today.

 

How He's Sleeping: We only wake up once through the night now.  At 3am

 

What Surprised Us: How alert he has become the past couple of days.

 

 

This past week has been just as wonderful!  Monday was my first day with Willy at work.  I was really anxious about it, but it went really well.  Simon is already on a schedule, and seems to be doing great.  I hate how much time he spends in his car seat, to schools and back, but he doesn't seem to mind.

 

Our mornings are still a little hectic.  I get up earlier than the big boys to feed Simon, then they eat breakfast and so on.  Yesterday I almost sent Colton to school without lunch.  But we're getting the hang of it.

 

Simon had his two week appointment today.  He is 8lbs 13oz now and 22.5 inches!!!  I had been concerned about his spitting up, but he's gaining weight well, so we're not going to worry much.  It seems as though the spitting up may have more to do with my oversupply of breast milk than an upset tummy.  We're giving things another week.  If things don't even out, the consultant and I will try a few things to see if it helps some. 

 

We went out to Mike and Dru's on Sunday to meet the great-grandparents on Daddy's side.  It was really a fun visit.  I was a little concerned about going at first.  I'm not always very willing to share Simon with a bunch of people at once.  I am still clinging on to him quite a bit.  But I felt better as the night went on, and we really had a good time.

 



Here are some pictures from the last week:

 

Sleeping so peacefully in mommy's arms

 

Daddy was supposed to be helping him fall asleep.

Our first tummy time.

And here is one where daddy was supposed to be trying to wake him up.

Simon's first time in the Mei Tei carrier.  LOVE this carrier!!

Much more awake for tummy time.

Our first cloth diaper try.

 

Ethan reading Simon a book.  A fabulous big brother!

My sleeping baby.

Here are a few sneak peeks at his newborn pictures.

 Love love love this one!!

 

 

Well, time to feed and change littlest man.

Catching Up: Ethan's First Day of Pre-K

I figure since I am sitting here, waiting for Simon's 10:30 feeding that I could start to catch up on some of the posts I missed the last couple months of my pregnancy. 

 

Ethan started Pre-K the last week of August.  This year was so different for me than last year was.  Last year I cried for days.  I cried some because my little Ethan was growing up.  I cried mostly for who we were missing.  The fact that I was home alone 3 days a week when I shouldn't have been tore me up every day when I dropped off Ethan.  I was sooo not ready for that season.  This year, Simon was on his way.

 

Ethan's first day this year was exciting.  Pre-K is such a HUGE deal to him.  He still doesn't seem big enough to be 5, let alone less than a year away from Kindergarten.  He's still my goofy little guy, with that zest for laugh and crazy laugh.  I really hope he enjoys this year.

 



This sign does say he wants to be a cowboy.  He wears a too small cowboy hat all the time, so who knows.

Flipping his backpack

Showing off his awesome backpack.

 

He wanted to do a fun picture, and this is as creative as he was feeling.

I really, truly love this little-big boy. He just melts my heart, as he does with anyone who meets him.

1 Week Old

Wow! I can't believe you are already a week old!  Time has gone by so fast sweet baby boy.

 

This Weeks Firsts: Car ride, bath, visit to pre-school, dr's appointment, pictures, just about everything

 

Best Moment: Simon being born...hearing him cry.

 

Cutest Moment: When he was sleeping and gave me a HUGE grin

 

How He's Sleeping: Pretty good at night.  We've had 3 nights in a row of a 5 hour stretch

 

What He's Eating: Momma's milk

 

What Surprised Us: How well he already holds up his head.  And losing his umbilical stump already.

 

 

I promise to post his birth story soon.  I almost have it all written down to share.  It truly was the labor and delivery I had been praying for since we decided to try for a VBAC.  I am so incredibly grateful.

 

This past week has gone by way too quickly.  There are times when it feels like he just arrived, and yet there are others when I can barely remember what it was like without Simon here.  He fits in so perfectly here at home.  He goes with the flow pretty well, and is genuinely a pretty quiet baby.  I always thought he would be more of a touchy baby by the way he acted when I was pregnant, but he really isn't.

 

We came home from the hospital on Friday morning. I would have loved to come home on Thursday, but they made us stay due to my being GBS+.  We did well in the hospital, though I am sure I am sleeping better now that we are home.  The nurses didn't bother us too much, and Simon never once left my side.

 

Coming home was great. Both boys were still in school, so we had a chance to chill out some and unwind.  Colton and Ethan were both ecstatic when they came home and found baby Simon to be in my arms.  Both older boys are doing very well with him.  Colton continues to pretty much do his own thing while Ethan jumps at every little sound Simon makes.  He is embracing being a big brother.

 

Snickers has been wonderful!  He has calmed down so much since bringing Simon home. He also drops what he is doing to check on Simon when he makes so much as a squeak.  He is really gentle around him and super protective.

 

I have been pretty weepy the past couple of days.  It  has coincided with my milk coming in.  I know the emotions have to do a lot with hormone levels and stuff. But I also know that some of it comes from the drop in emotional stress also.  Simon is here.  He is alive, healthy, and here.  And although I still worry about him, it's not at the level I did while I was pregnant with him.  And when I hold him, nurse him, snuggle with him, there are times when I think about how it would have been with two newborn babies.  Those are some hard moments.  They are fleeting, but the emotional weight hangs around for awhile.  I am grateful for how wonderful things are with Simon, but it's hard knowing they are everything I wanted for Lucas and Caleb, but we didn't get them.

 

Simon has also started spitting up in the past couple of days.  The first round is right after he nurses and is most likely due to the flap in his esophagus not being fully developed yet. And the crazy amount of milk I'm producing.  The second round seems to be related to my intake of dairy products.  I am still having a tough time with dairy, also.  It seems that when I am cramping up, he is spitting up.  Since my taking Lactaid isn't going to help him, I am giving up the heavy dairy items such as milk, ice cream, cheese  cake, and the like.  If that doesn't do it, then we'll give up everything dairy.

 

Here are a few pictures from the week.  We took his newborn pictures today and hope to share them soon. They were soooo much better than the ones from the hospital.  That experience was excruciating and the prices outrageous.  Today was much better, and he was much happier.



 

Coming home from the hospital.

First nap at home.

Napping in the pack-n-play downstairs.  He loves to have his hands by his face, and often holds the binkie in his mouth.

After his first bath.  I have a very similar picture of Colton's first bath.

 

Getting ready to watch his first RAMS game! 

Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts, and support these past several months.  It's amazing to see this little boy and know that there were so many praying for him.  He is an answered prayer.